In elementary school, it was very cool to be in a club. Most of the clubs I was in were started by Abbey and included the two of us and sometimes another friend or two. We had the Paper Clip Club, the Take it to the Max Club, and clubs for people who could perform certain acrobatic feats on the playground. I read all sorts of books about children who form clubs, from the Babysitters’ Club to the Saddle Club to the Christian “Best Friends” series. Club-forming seems to be a generally accepted developmental stage, but I always thought that it was a stage that was eventually left behind in preadolescence.
The other day I was browsing the chick-lit at Golden’s, my favorite used bookstore, and I became amused at the number of books written for women, by women that are about clubs. I actually wrote down a list, but I lost it, so I searched “club” on Amazon.com to see what came up. Excluding my search results that turn up books about teenage clubs (“The Tiara Club” series), books targeted toward legitimate clubs (Oprah’s Book Club), and classics/serious fiction (The Joy Luck Club, The Dante Club, The Club Dumas), look at what all came up:
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Series
The Potluck Club
Sisterchicks series
The Friday Night Knitting Club
The Book Club
The Mother-Daughter Book Club
The Chocolate Lovers’ Club
The Hot Flash Club
The Adultery Club
The Mrs. Club
Okay, so here is my question- Are adult women’s clubs really this ubiquitous? I know some people who are in book clubs, but other than that it seems like this is some sort of alternate universe that is being created by authors of hot pink paperbacks. Most of the women I know are too busy taking care of kids, keeping the kitchen clean, juggling work and family, and/or hanging out with friends in unorganized social events to sit around forming clubs.
My suspicion is that the plethora of books about clubs is an attempt to re-create the success of the Ya Ya Sisterhood series. But beyond that, I think that clubs are attractive (to preteens and grownups alike) because it creates the illusion of security in friendships. If we’re just friends, we may grow apart as our lives change. But if we’re members of a club, we have a guarantee that in fifty years we will still be in touch and meeting regularly. After all, we pinky swore and became blood sisters over it!
Maybe I’m wrong and clubs are really all the rage. In that case…Abbey, do you want to resurrect the Paper Clip Club? I still have all the materials to make our signature bracelets.
April 20, 2008 at 2:16 am
Perhaps clubs have been the rage since the Beginning…the overwhelming desire to belong is indeed a driving force. Sophie is all of 4 months old, and already we have been urged to join playclubs NOW, warned that if we dont, her development will be hindered irreparably.
Come on people!! Hmmm….could it be that the mommies need the play club more? Why dont we just come right out and say we need fellowship?
Love the blog, Lindsey! You are a great writer.
April 20, 2008 at 6:50 am
Yes, we all need to belong to something. I think these people may legitimately be looking for people with similar interests (gardening, scrapbooking, etc.). Christians generally find their social group at church (the ultimate club?) with a shared interest in Jesus/missions/evangelism/worship/fellowship.
As long as the clubs are moral/legal (really, the Adultery Club?), they’re probably harmless. So grab a box of paper clips!
April 20, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Wow…how do you remember that stuff? Those club names sound familiar, but I really don’t remember anything about them. I think people like clubs because it gives them a right to be exclusive, without making it too personal for the non-members. I agree though, It’s pretty dumb.
April 20, 2008 at 7:26 pm
We had a club called TAG which stood for, wait for it… Totally Awesome Girls! We also had a baby-sitters club although none of us babysat. We just basically picked characters and traded books from the series to read. I was Mary Anne. Anyone surprised by that?