The Right Dishonourable

The only surprise in the news that the Garrick Club is facing legal action over sex discrimination is that it took so long. This year no old institution has been off limits to progressive calls for radical reform, but boys’ clubs have been acceptable targets for much longer and nobody can deny that a men’s only members’ club qualifies.

The complainant is Emily Bendell, chief executive of underwear company Bluebella. The entrepreneur instructed lawyers last Tuesday to send a letter to the club, informing it that she is seeking to reverse its policy of only allowing women into the club as guests or employees.

Journalists have lately become acutely aware of the narrow slice of life they showcase. Tom Chivers of UnHerd represents the best of this trend, covering a range of statistical bloopers, biases and other media shortcomings. In short, the news is not reality, but a view on it.

Others are less concerned with rigorous accuracy, instead focusing on whether it’s good for their ‘narrative’, as the pseuds say. As a result, this summer we’ve been treated to news reports about “mostly peaceful” riots across the Western world, sometimes accompanied with footage of smashed buildings, or even smashed people.