Society has changed a lot, blurring notions of gender identity. 'He makes, she buys' is a thing of the past.
Not only have women asserted themselves at work and at home since the 1960s, but bastions of male bonding---the barbershop, golf club, U.S. Army--have largely become unisex. Women are acting more like men. And men are acting more like women.
Younger men, those in their 20s and 30s, grew up in a world where women held increasing sway. With nearly half of all U.S. marriages failing, many of these guys were raised by a single mom. Growing up under her roof, they would be expected to adopt more of her traits, interests and habits than their predecessors. "Men under 35 shop more like their sisters than their fathers and grandfathers," says Wendy Liebmann, president of WSL Strategic Retail. "They shop the same kinds of places. They're not just in and out fast, but are people who like to browse, use shopping as a community experience."
A room of his own.
Every social revolution begets a backlash and the unisexing of society is no different. For many men, modern life has stoked nostalgia for their own place---a boy's club, if you will. You have most likely visited one of those places; the separate room in the house or the one over the garage with the large flat plasma TV, the sports stuff on the walls, a poker or pool table, and a full bar surrounding leather armchairs aimed at the TV.
Men want a place for themselves and their male buddies to bond. Word of mouth flows through personal recommendations given during conversations. Like in the Miller Life commercial, "Man Laws" that combines humorous discussions of modern etiquette, this is the room where today's male friends escape from the outside unisex world...if only for a few hours.
Source: BusinessWeek's cover story/September 4, 2006