Man Cave

A man cave
or manspace,
and less commonly a manland or mantuary is a male retreat
or sanctuary
in a home, such as a specially equipped garage,
spare bedroom,
media room,
den,
basement,
or tree house.
The term "man cave" is a metaphor describing a room where one or more male family members and optionally their friends are supposed to be able to do as they please, without fear of upsetting any female household members with their interior design choices. Paula Aymer of Tufts University calls it the "last bastion of masculinity". The first known published use of the phrase is from March 21, 1992, in the ''Toronto Star'' by Joanne Lovering: "With his cave of solitude secured against wife intrusion by cold floors, musty smells and a few strategic cobwebs, he will stay down there for hours nestled in very manly magazines and open boxes of tools. Let's call the basement, man cave." The phrase gained traction with the 1993 publication of '' Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus'' by John Gray.

While a man's wife may have substantial authority over the rest of the house in terms of design and decoration, she often has no say in the look of a man's personal space. Because, historically, the wife decided the decor of the home (due to the role of caring for the family and managing household affairs), a man cave is the only space where a man can express his creativity and sense of design.

Purpose

Man caves have multiple purposes: they are a place to be alone, to indulge in hobbies, and to hang out with male friends. It is, loosely, a male-only space to retreat to watch sports matches, play video games, or hang out with friends. According to psychiatrist and author Scott Haltzman, it is important for a man to have a place to call his own, referring to a male area to which to retreat. Rules are relaxed; it is a place where other people's sensibilities about standards of cleanliness are not necessarily observed.

In a sense, for married men, it is a way to recreate some of the space and freedom of their pad, frat house, or college dorm room, where people could come and go as if they owned the place. It is where a man doesn't have to be on his best behavior, where no women are around, and is supposed to be able to relax. Writer and handyman Sam Martin explained:

Martin thinks that any space in the house will do, even a lounge chair and a set of headphones, provided there's an agreement with one's wife or girlfriend that the space is under the control of the man. The advantages of a self-contained room are that male-oriented design choices, such as tacky lamps and beer-can sculptures, are out of sight of women, but in a way that doesn't disturb female sensibilities since visitors generally don't visit the man cave. Similar to a firehouse lounge room, but in the home.

Sociologist Tristan Bridges has interviewed American men and their partners about their man caves. He found that many men rarely used their man caves. One man Bridges interviewed said "I feel like some day guys from my neighbourhood will congregate here after work and we'll share a beer and chat." When Bridges asked about who these guys were, the man replied "I don't know". Bridges says that his research has turned partly into 'a story about men's loneliness.

Design

According to several sources, the general architectural and design trend is for men to take traditionally male-only spaces, and enhance them with improvements and masculine aesthetic choices. Man caves can be equipped with accessories such as refrigerators, vending machines, putting greens, kegerators, giant TVs, musical instruments including gear such as microphone stands and amplifiers, pool tables, boxing rings, and entertainment centers. A man cave may also be fitted out with a bar and sports memorabilia such as trophies. Fisherman for example can display their catches there. In the book ''Where Men Hide'' which ''Publishers Weekly'' described as an affable but only “sometimes thought provoking” guide, author James Twitchell and photographer Ken Ross explore areas where men like to be alone.Publishers Weekly, 2006, James B. Twitchell, Author, Ken Ross, Photographer
Where Men Hide
Accessed July 10, 2013 According to Twitchell, some public male-only spaces, such as the barbershop, are declining, while other spaces are taking their places, and the author tries to show the attractions of the "grimy garage." The book suggests that "men make their own spaces for good or ill", according to ''Publishers Weekly''. Twitchell focused on communal ''man cave'' spaces such as male-only groups in megachurches, possibly a modern-day replacement for declining attendance at male-only clubs such as Masonic lodges. Twitchell noted that some anthropologists have speculated that these spots are a place for men to bond before hunting or war, and where they can "smoke or fart" and tell the "same jokes over and over again."The Calgary Herald, May 19, 2006
Where men hide: Be it a man cave, a hidey-hole or a recliner, guys crave a place to be alone: Whether it is in the garage, the study or even just sitting in a La-Z-Boy recliner playing video games, men feel the need to get away from women occasionally, according to a new book chronicling the gender's favorite hiding spots
Accessed July 10, 2013

One man redecorated the space to look like a replica model of the bridge of the Starship ''Enterprise'' from the TV show ''Star Trek'', while another man spent over 2 years and $120,000 to make his man cave into a Batcave. Upscale sports-themed furnishings are also available to outfit a man cave. These rooms are also often decorated by the male, with little or no female influence. The room may be large enough to accommodate a big screen television, often used for watching sports games with male friends. If it is an area set off from the rest of the house, it may be possible to make noise, or yell at the television, without fear of reprisals from a wife, girlfriend or mother.

Garages have typically been a man space since they're often lit by "harsh fluorescent bulbs" and lack heat or air conditioning but nevertheless present a guy with an "opportunity to disappear for hours while never leaving the premises." There are some reports suggesting that some men are likely to "lavish time, money and attention on fixing this spot up". Places in houses which have been typically associated with male-oriented chores, such as garages, basements and sheds which have not been "particularly welcoming spaces" when shared with storage items and garbage, are being fixed up to be more suitable as full-time living spaces, with more thought to design and planning.

One ''man cave'' of a Gillette corporation executive has a desk, "a chess board that's always set up, never used". But sometimes there are limits; his wife has not yet agreed to let him smoke cigars in it.

Counterparts

Women have created similar spaces in which they can relax and pursue hobbies. These have been referred to as "she-sheds" and "girl-caves". Some analysts have described the manosphere as an online counterpart to the man-cave.DeKeseredy, Walter S., Alexis Fabricius, and Amanda Hall-Sanchez. "Fueling aggrieved entitlement: The contribution of women against feminism postings." Crimsoc report 4 (2015): 1-34.

In popular culture

In the book by Sam Martin, entitled ''Manspace: A Primal Guide to Marking Your Territory'', the author suggested there were several spots from pop culture:

* Al Bundy's garage from the TV sitcom '' Married... with Children'': Al Bundy's garage was his only sanctuary. It was also used to hold the recurring "No Ma'am" meetings.
* Tim Taylor's garage in the TV sitcom ''Home Improvement'': Tim Taylor used to "bring to life all manner of high-powered monster machines."
* Bada Bing room in the TV show ''The Sopranos'': Tony Soprano's gang would meet in a windowless "dingy office" at the Bada Bing strip club. It was a "guys-only place within a guys-only place."
* Doug's garage in the TV show ''The King of Queens'', Doug Heffernan's garage is equipped with a big screen TV, beer fridge, and a couch where Doug and his friends watch football, baseball, and boxing and drink beer in peace away from Doug's wife, Carrie, and Doug's father-in-law, Arthur Spooner.
* Charles Deetz's den, from the 1988 movie ''Beetlejuice'', is another example of a Man cave. It is the only room that survives an extensive home renovation initiated by his wife and her decorator.

See also

* Andron
* Cabinet (room)
* Home Tiki Bars
* Male bonding
* Mancation
* Personal space
* Recreation room
* Shed
* ''ManSpace'' (TV series)
* '' Man Caves'', a home renovation program specifically targeted in the creation of man caves.

References

*

{{Room

Cave
Rooms