"Club Fed" is a derisive term used in
North America to refer to a
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
whose accommodations are seen as less severe than many other prisons. ''Club Fed'' is a
pun
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
on the "
Club Med
Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Founded in 1950, the company has been primarily o ...
" chain of
all-inclusive resort
An all-inclusive resort is a holiday resort that includes at a minimum lodging, three meals daily, soft drinks, most alcoholic drinks, gratuities, and possibly other services in the price. Many also offer sports and non-motorized watersports and ot ...
s. The 1999 movie ''
Office Space
''Office Space'' is a 1999 American black comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes the worklife of a typical 1990s software company, focusing on a handful of individuals weary of their jobs. It stars Ron Livingston, Jennifer ...
'' made a reference to this style of prison by referring to it as a "white-collar, minimum-security resort." However, later in the film, a lawyer rebuts this view by stating that residents of federal prisons are subject to physical and sexual violence.
In Canada, the
Joliette Institution for Women was nicknamed "Club Fed" because of the prison's supposedly luxurious conditions and lax restrictions, claims the prison has denied. Also in Canada, the
William Head Institution in British Columbia is known as "Club Fed" due to its pastoral country setting which includes tennis courts, baseball diamond, and a small golf course.
See also
*
List of U.S. federal prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories:
* United States penitentiaries
* Federal correctional institutions
* Private correctional institutions
* Federal prison camps
* Administrative facilities
* Federal correctio ...
*
Alderson Federal Prison Camp
The Federal Prison Camp, Alderson (FPC Alderson) is a minimum-security United States federal prison for female inmates in West Virginia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
F ...
*
Incarceration in the United States: Security levels
References
{{Reflist
Prisons in the United States
Prisons in Canada
Pejorative terms