What’s in a name?

This is the last time we will mention the terms “man cave” and “manctuary” on our site — they’re now both banned from both our site, as well as our forums. Here’s why:

While we do offer product reviews, guides, and other information for “man caves” and “manctuaries,” we disagree with the usage of terms and any variations of them and refuse to use them on our site. They’re coined terms, commercialized terms, produced and distributed for yuppies.

The definition for a “man cave” is simply a synonym of a variety of other terms already in place, one where a man, or many men, can gather without fear of repercussion to do manly things like play pool, watch sports, talk about many things, etc. Man caves can include and is often a synonym for the following places:

Dorm Rooms
Bachelor Pads
Fraternity Houses
Basements
Game Rooms
Family Room
And our favorite, recreational (rec) rooms.

No harm in that definition, right? Wrong. The difference between man caves and the other places above is one striking disparity — the associated connotations. If you can picture a guy in the suburbs of Phoenix with a wife and a kid, working as an insurance broker using a storage closet in his house to listen to a few old ACDC albums in — I can show you a man cave.

On the other hand, show me a basement with a pool table and a mahogany bar, I’ll show you somebody that has never called their room a “man cave.”

Now, don’t get us wrong — we love Phoenix. Go Suns or whatever. And we’re all married and most have kids. But this doesn’t mean you’re a second class citizen. You don’t need a “cave.” You need a room. A big, nice room that you and your entire family can show off to friends. It doesn’t have to have the flashiest or most expensive things, it just needs to be your designated place to kick back and relax in without guilt.

You shouldn’t be ashamed by it. Unless, of course, you call it a cave.