Why We Need Men-Only Spaces

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To the surprise of no one, the Masters tournament has once again raised the question offemale membership at Augusta National. I’m not going to talk a lot about that, iffor no other reason than it’s a moot point. Augusta is a private golfclub operated by its membership. They select who they want to admit into the club,much like a fraternity. Are their “policies” discriminatory? Yes, they are,but so are the policies of many, many organizations. Not just anyone can join a givenhomeowners association, and even book clubs can decide who they want to admit. Besides, even if they let women join, you’re talking upwards of $30K to start andnearly $10K per year to join a club that you can only play at May through October. (Funfact: Augusta is a Bermuda grass course, but you’ve never seen it played on Bermuda.When they play the Masters, it’s over-seeded with rye grass.) Couldn’t men without the means topay the membership fee claim discrimination as well? I mean, I still can’t join,unless management is in the market for members who happen to be devilishly handsomeinternet scribes (here’s looking at you, Billy Payne). It’s rumored that BillGates has begged for membership repeatedly, only to be denied each time. It’s notabout money or status; it’s about fitting the mold.Still, Augusta aside,women gaining entry into traditionally all-male institutions brings up another question:What, if any, male havens still exist? Golf may be the one thing I’m genuinelyqualified to write about, and even if AskMen doesn’t really “do” golfand you don’t play it yourself, you have to concede that the golf course istraditionally a male domain. That’s not to say that women aren’t welcomethere. I’m just saying that the golf course is one of the few places men have leftto gather and act like men.I don’t worry myself about themembership at Augusta National any more than I worry myself about the stock option valuesfor Apple employees, because as far as I’m concerned they might as well be the samething. But you know what I do worry about? Our man space. I’m usually the last oneto jump on the “Rawr! I’m a man” bandwagon, but this is something thatdemands our attention. As long as I can gather up a foursome, drink a little too much and(harmlessly) flirt with the cart girl, I’m fine. Take that away from me, andwe’ve got a problem.Think about it. While men are opening up to the ideaof pedicures, the nail salon is largely a female-dominated space. You can say the same forthe hair salon, lingerie stores, makeup outlets and places that sell home decor. Sure,plenty of guys are into home decor and haircuts, but, really, how many men do you see inthose places? There’s the tired trope of the boyfriend or husband being draggedthrough Sephora by his significant other, but besides that, a peek into any of thosestorefronts might as well be a peek into a girls' locker room.On the otherhand, think of the pastimes best loved by men. Sports? My best friend plays in severalsports leagues with just as many women as men. Spectator sports? My fiancée enjoysbaseball and hockey games almost as much as I do. Cooking?If anything, we took that from them, and any cooking class or supply store is likely to bean paragon of male-female diversity. Even when it comes to men’s fashion, women areboth more apt and more capable at lending a knowing eye than vice versa. In short, thethings men enjoy are now enjoyed by just as many women, while many of the things womenenjoy remain largely exclusive territory. Continue Reading

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