Drag could subvert the rules at male-only ‘gentlemen’s club’
One of London’s last male-only private clubs has opted to keep a ban on women… but one member has come up with a fantastic solution.
The famous Garrick Club has been operating since 1831, and is one of the last venues to operate a “gentlemen only” policy banning female members.
A number of proposals to end the ban have failed to reach a required two-thirds majority – with the latest such vote attracting support from 50.5% of existing members earlier this year.
However, one studious observer of the club’s rules might have cracked a workaround.
According to the Standard, Garrick member Clive Francis mooted the idea in the club’s magazine.
He wrote: “All is not lost, there is a glimmer of hope at hand, a compromise.
“From what I can gather, although women may not become members, there is nothing to stop members becoming women… as long as they’re wearing a tie.”
The writer proposed a Garrick drag dinner, to “soften the blow for those whose fervent wish to see ladies enter our ranks as members was dashed”.
He wrote: “I have had an occasional foray into fishnets, as an all-singing, all-dancing hag in D Potter’s Lipstick on Your Collar.
“I am sure there have been many other worthy members who have at one time or another enjoyed the fragrant attire of the female undergarment.”
