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.