Mancation
Mancation is a term used to describe a vacation or trip taken by a group of male friends, typically for the purpose of bonding, having fun, and engaging in activities that are traditionally associated with masculinity.[1] The term is a combination of "man" and "vacation". The term is believed to have come about in the 2000s, although the concept had existed considerably before then.[citation needed]
Travel industry trend[edit]
The concept of a gender specific trip has "been around since the first caveman took his club and went hunting with the others in the tribe."[2] Yet, mancation has become a buzzword in the travel business lately.[when?] Tapping into the success of marketing all-girls getaway packages, hotels and resorts have started featuring all-male bonding vacation packages that include everything from poker, to extreme sports, to spa treatments.[3] Golfing is the most popular activity for all-male vacation groups,[4] but destinations have developed unique programs to accommodate the growing trend. The latest mancation packages offer spiritual healing, culinary instruction, yoga, and sexual reawakening.[3]
In promoting mancations, some organizers "have discovered that men tend to create ‘micro affinity groups’ in childhood, college, or grad school, and that the groups often take trips together."[5] According to one online survey,[6] about 34% of male respondents take at least one mancation every year. It is estimated that about 20 million American men go on mancations every year and collectively spend between $10 billion to $12 billion during these excursions.[2] The majority of these men are married and between the ages of thirty to fifty-five years old.[3]
During the summer of 2006, half of the Fairmont Hotel chain's 50 properties in the United States created mancation packages. For example, the Fairmont Chicago mancation package consists of a three-course steak dinner, a cocktail seminar, whiskey tasting, cigars, and poker.[7]
A 2008 study conducted by the Synovate research firm showed that 42% of men have taken a mancation, and 42% would like to in the future.[8] The Jim Beam and Knob Creek bourbon brands used the statistics to promote a guys' trip to the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky for National Bourbon Heritage Month, occurring annually in September.
Etymology[edit]
During the summer of 2006, actor Vince Vaughn said it in the romantic comedy film The Break-Up, written by Jay Lavender and Jeremy Garelick, stating: "I’m excited. I look at it like I’m on a mancation."[7] In April 2007, New Line Cinema and Benderspink green-lit a comedy written by Jared Bush entitled Mancation, which follows a man who believes his younger brother's manhood has been robbed by marriage. In an attempt to regain this manhood, he takes his little brother on a "testosterone-filled 'mancation.'"[9]
Other slang terms associated with getaways for groups of men are "mancursions", "man trips" or "fellas trips".[4]
References[edit]
- ^ "Mancation definition in American English". www.collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Clark, Jayne. "Need to get away? Make it a guy thing; Male bonding goes to the next level: ‘Mancations’", USA Today, Dec. 29. 2006.
- ^ a b c Morago, Greg. "BOYS GONE WILD; TIME OFF NO LONGER A TIMEOUT FOR FUN-LOVING GUYS", Hartford Courant, December 31, 2006.
- ^ a b Shattuck, Harry. "Hang out with your buds on men-only ‘mancation’", The Houston Chronicle, January 21, 2007.
- ^ Lebovits, Susan Chaityn. "Fly a MiG? Swim with sharks? They're In!", The Boston Globe, February 27, 2007.
- ^ "I'm in! – About Us". I'm in!. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ a b Pellizzari, Chris. "MEN ON VACATION; Hotels and resorts are now offering guys the perfect mancations", Chicago Tribune, October 5, 2006.
- ^ "Jim Beam and Knob Creek Bourbons Celebrate National Bourbon Heritage Month with a Bourbon Inspired Mancation" (Press release). Beam Global Spirits & Wine. August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
Male Bonding Booms with Affordable Guys' Getaway Options; 64 Percent of Men Prefer Kentucky's Bourbon Trail over 'Vegas-type' Experience for Guys' Weekend.
- ^ McNary, Dave. "New Line, Bush take a 'Mancation'", Daily Variety, April 18, 2007.
External links[edit]
The dictionary definition of mancation at Wiktionary
