Being told that you are not good enough is a hard pill to swallow, regardless of who it may come from. But how are you supposed to react when you’ve spent the best of an hour doing hair and make-up to what you felt was an impressive standard to then be told that the effort is poor. How do you pretend that you’re okay with the fact that you waddled across London in clumpy heels that are already rubbing your skin raw, to be told that actually, you didn’t quite make the cut? It sounds outrageous when you put it down on paper but that is exactly what these flashy, exclusive Mayfair Clubs are getting away with on a daily basis. You wouldn’t go up to a stranger and tell them that they aren’t good enough, so why are there a different set of rules for these clubs? What gives them the right?
In a society where eating disorders are affecting approximately 1.6 million people and the general age of teens getting cosmetic surgery is at an all-time low, you would expect that measures would be put into place wherever possible to combat this. However, after close inspection of the exclusive Mayfair clubs in London, it is made evident that this is not the case.
When planning to go to these clubs it is mandatory that you ensure you have the most glamorous outfit as the dress code is extremely strict. Whilst looking on their websites for information I noticed that almost all of the clubs such as Drama, Tape and Cirque Le Soir, made it explicitly clear that they did not want male heavy entourages. This highlights the fact that they want the sex appeal that comes with a girl majority club as it becomes a motivation for men to attend and purchase masses of alcohol and tables in order to impress. These things are also not cheap with the prices of tables averaging around £1000 making it an expensive night to simply try and woo a girl that you may never see again. However, I find that the most problematic aspect of these clubs is the superficial factor in which they are explicitly clear on and how this is affecting young women.
The process of being rejected from these clubs is one of extreme humiliation and embarrassment. You are plucked out of line for looking too young despite being of the age to go inside. They want young, slim, made-up girls, which creates the exact problem in which our society is currently undergoing. With the rise of social media platforms such as Instagram, the appearance of being young and beautiful is becoming more central to the lives of teenagers. Models and influencers can make it appear that their life is perfect and that they never have a bad hair day from just one picture on an endless grid of filtered and airbrushed images, this just isn’t realistic. In doing research I found that the 2017 Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence report stated that 9 out of 10 girls in the UK won’t leave the house or spend time with friends and family on days in which they don’t like their appearance, creating the illusion that they should only socialise if they feel they are looking perfect. In my opinion, clubs like these are simply endorsing this behaviour and increasing the problem.
Mayfair clubs have built up a prestigious reputation for themselves as being only for the elite, however, in doing so they have torn down so many women. Weight, appearance, height and clothes are all of the factors that they consider when admitting you into the club. If in their eyes you have failed to meet their requirements, then they will give you a breakdown of exactly what isn’t good enough about you and why you don’t fit the clientele of their club. One experience of this alone is enough to make a young girl doubt herself and begin to dislike the things that she once loved about herself.
This is a ludicrous culture that needs to end. Young men and women go through enough life changes throughout their adolescence and don’t need added pressure to try and fit unrealistic standards just to enter into a club with their friends. Instead of implementing fear of rejection into young people for not being ‘pretty enough’, they should be encouraged to feel good in their own skin and express their individuality. It baffles me that in 2019 this problem is still lingering in our society with no indication that it is leaving any time soon.
