Man caves have become popular recently and are seen as a sign of true masculinity, freedom, and escape from life's troubles (especially a nagging wife). Now someone has finally come up with an idea for women - "Mom caves". I'm not sure if this title is simply meant to play off of the word "Man", but this article blatantly ignores all women that are married or have a partner but are not moms. Whereas a man needs to escape his wife or girlfriend, a woman apparently only needs an escape when she has kids. This isn't the only issue I have with this article (actually, I think it might be easiest to just say what I don't have an issue with). The article states that man caves are usually transformed "basement alcoves" complete with "A mini-fridge, a La-Z-boy and a universal remote control". When it comes to mom caves, "anywhere from an unused closet to a guest room" will do. Why does this article assume that a woman must fit her space into a small corner of the house while a man is granted a bigger and more comfortable space? Following this article's definition of a mom as the main caretaker of the household and a matriarch, I would think that a woman would have more need for personal space than a man would.
This article was more upsetting to me because of its overall comment on society than on gender roles. I understand the importance of personal space and I commend the idea of finding a way to reduce stress and increase tranquility, however the idea of "caves" disturbs me. The whole idea seems to center around shutting oneself away from not just the outside world, but the family. There is so much emphasis on the need to get away from everyone else, that the idea of being with everyone is construed as stressful. It seems that the moms and men that have the resources to create these caves must have the monetary recourse to have their own rooms. Why can't a bedroom be a personal space? Why can't a relaxation space be shared? I worry that this article accepts too readily the idea of man caves and fails to adopt a more positive point of view. Maybe mom caves seem to be progressive or feminist, but they really follow the lead of what men have done. I think women should instead be working to reintegrate the family. Personal space and time is important and sometimes necessary, but family integration and shared time is also vital to for children's advancement and the development of relationships.
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