Fetish club life is slowly waking up and getting back to work after the long absence caused by the pandemic. The event calendars are filling up and we can finally plan and travel again to see friends and acquaintances and enjoy our long-awaited fetish comeback. Most of the European fetish events are primarily organized by non-commercial associations that care for the well-being of their members rather than for the profit.
A community requires closeness, direct contact and interaction between people and their intangible assets. Unfortunately, the voluntary commitment is decreasing and financial difficulties, caused by the months of closure of the club bars and the lack of income from events, prevent the existing zest for action. Working for a club demands a certain passion for the cause. In the course of time, I had the chance to get to know many clubs and their members, who devotedly get involved and impressively get events and activities going. Clubs rely on voluntary work and how much poorer would our community be without the eager people who work unpaid. Voluntarily active members are looking for like-minded people, they foster a sense of common identity and recognize that they can create the community to a certain extent according to their own ideas. Without any doubts, voluntary work is time-consuming, but is in return, rewarded with the appreciation of others, a certain self-realization. A give and take for mutual benefit. Nowadays, however, some beneficiaries have become comfortable and take on egocentric tendencies, wanting to give little and take even more in return. They see the association as a service provider and, in the worst, case, lose themselves in anonymity and isolation. To some extent, the new type of community is already strongly defined in the digital world and often ends in isolation, which partly questions the purpose of clubs and confronts them with new challenges.
There is often criticism that long-established board members and their ideas are rather outdated and that offers and activities of clubs do not go by the interests of young, open-minded people. In addition, a lack of young board members is also often disapproved. Criticism is easy to come by, and as in many other cases I want to call on all hypercritics: do better yourself before criticizing! Some new clubs are founded either as a protest or because of disagreement. It doesn’t really help anyone if several clubs with the same purpose suddenly compete in the same city or region and desperately seeking to gain members. Instead, it makes much more sense to join, to use the pioneering work and experience of established members and, at the same time, to optimally combine the visions and fresh ideas of newcomers. In club work, the common good should take precedence over the end in itself, so that clubs don’t isolate and become overly elitist.
From my own personal experience, titleholders play an important role. Every year, a new titleholder is elected to represent their club and participate significantly in the creation of the club activities. This annual changing role is not only creating fresh ideas in a short-term because most titleholders remain loyal to their club and are actively involved beyond the title year. Furthermore, titleholders can support the social change in linking their clubs with social media, which may for many become the new way of public relations and make bustling club activities partly obsolete.
Clubs run by single-handed individuals sooner or later lose substance, because no one can cope with a diverse job such as managing a club alone over a long period of time. An executive board should consist of different people to spread responsibility, allow individuals to contribute their strengths and expertise, and thereby achieve the best possible outcome.
In addition, networking among clubs is advisable for mutual inspiration and support. I’m thinking of the co-operation with a regularly changing partner club for the joint exchange of experiences and projects as well as attending each other throughout the year. This not only strengthens the sense of community, but also expands the club’s range of activities for members and offers the opportunity to get to know new people and events. Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.
Furthermore, keeping up with the constant changes within our community is essential, especially when it comes to young people. All too often the needs of the next generation are ignored, misjudged, or misinterpreted. Therefore, the continuous promotion of young people both among members and in the board, is recommended, because clubs often still offer future members only few advantages. The challenge for the clubs lies in the willingness and courage to change. Our fetish community is niche enough and must not be divided any further.
Think about getting actively involved in your local club and using your strengths for the good of the community. Voluntary work is neither craving for personal recognition nor pastime, but the main pillar of our community and our possibility to create and improve our environment. Otherwise, we will be more and more subject to the dictates of commercial organizations arranging big mainstream events, on which we would be dependent without active clubs and their individuality.