Man Cave : Man vs. Family
An interesting piece over at Acculturated caught my eye. Pull quote:
What differentiates the man cave from these more traditional male spaces is that workshops and studies are designed to accommodate a particular, elevating interest. These rooms are only isolated inasmuch as the activities proper to them are best pursued without distraction. With the man cave, however, the isolation from the family—the escape—is the primary purpose of the space. The man cave, therefore, is the image of the traditional male space without its substance.
This is a good reminder for me to put my office-with-a-recliner to better use when I'm there.
P.S. I've enjoyed reading the pieces at Acculturated. It addresses cultural topics, as Dreher's blog attempts to do, but with good, clear writing and without the author being part of (much less the entire) story.
Great article. Yes, a good spiritual director (with an accent on direct) asked me once if I engaged with my family or if I "retreated to my cave." I had to be honest about it and realize that I did sometimes retreat to my office, even though I don't have anything like a true "man cave" in my house, nor will I ever, and I don't lock the door or anything like that. I've known a few "absentee dads" who lived in their houses but took a very passive role in their family's life. They all had "man caves" of one sort or another.
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