Mancaves and masculinity
Published online on October 08, 2014
Abstract
How do mancaves, male spaces in or around the house, contribute to construction of masculinity? Our research challenges the perspective that male spaces emerge in opposition to the feminine conception of home. Findings from interviews with American suburban men reveal that male spaces represent therapeutic venues that help men in alleviating identity pressures created by work as well as domestic life and aid revitalization of men’s identities as fathers and husbands. Circumscribed by egalitarian ideology and the family ideal, male spaces also foster paternal and fraternal bonds instrumental for creating masculinity at home.