‘Mancations’

An AAP report says that while you will have heard of the word, metrosexual, and “vacations” instead of “holidays” been creeping into our vernacular, here’s a new word to add to the list: mancation.

The term was coined by the one and only man himself Vince Vaughn in The Breakup.

He and Jennifer Aniston’s character have split up and he wants to get away – without a female companion.

Since then, the idea’s taken off. So much so that some members of the lesser sex have only ever been on holidays without the company of the fairer sex.

“The only vacation I have been on has been a mancation,” says Sydneysider Daniel Dragicevich, who embarked on an extended European mancation last year with comrade Ross Brown.

Dragicevich – Deo to his mates – finished uni and postponed entering the workforce in favour of “party time”.

The jovial pair packed their bags in time for summer in the Greek islands, Oktoberfest in Germany and ski season in Switzerland.

When asked of the highlights Brown recalls “getting a good tan … after Ios I had good coverage”.

For these single lads it was all about long days in the sun and even longer nights spent on the dance floor knocking back shots.

To add to the mix, their mate Michael Buggy was in the midst of a world tour. After meeting up with his girlfriend in Canada, Buggy joined the troop in Amsterdam.

He said that his mancation was inspired by the value that he places on mateship.

“I wanted to reinforce it by meeting up with them,” he says. “Guys don’t usually go out of their way to express their feelings about mates, not like girls do.

“When you go to the trouble of meeting up on the other side of the world I guess it shows something.”

But after spending 11 months away, one of which was with the boys, the effects of beaches and booze began to take hold.

“It made me feel sick afterwards, I was completely down,” Buggy remembers.”But it was worth every minute of it.”

Age is no barrier to enjoying the benefits of a bit of man-time.

“Now we’re talking,” was one man in a bunch of older guys all aged more than 50.  The others nodded in agreement.

No females, it appears, has its proven benefits.

Glossy male-oriented bible Men’s Health explores all facets of what keeps men … healthy.

Ian Cockerill, deputy editor of the magazine, says it has reported on the importance of time spent with the boys.

“We’re strong advocates of the benefits of spending time with your mates,” Cockerill says. “It is the male way of expression emotions, however limited they may be.”

Dragicevich agrees. “It’s more of a life experience when you go with the boys,” he says. “because you go and do your own thing.”

For the female traveller there are organised, escorted tours. Shopping, cooking, adventuring, there is something for everyone. The groups of women, who want it to be clear they aren’t man-haters, prefer the safety found in numbers and simply need a relaxing break.

Men, on the other hand, “are more likely to do it spontaneously than sign up for organised travel,” Cockerill says.

It’s golf trips, surfing holidays and sports tours that spring to mind for Cockerill.

American Mike Sprifke founded the website http://www.mancations.com for combining testosterone with time away.

“We offer a website for guys to search for mancations and also to post information related to mancations,” he says. “The aim of the site is to be the best location on the net to find packages being offered, locations to visit … related to mancations.”

For Sprifke, the purpose of the mancation is not so much to get away from female company but to fulfil masculine needs.

“Mancations tend to be centred around activities that are testosterone driven,” he says. “(It’s about) doing things that wives and girlfriends would not find appealing.”

And it seems the notion is picking up in popularity. Sprifke says “mancations” is set to hit the big screen in a film of the same name scheduled for release in 2009.

Starring Vince Vaughn, no doubt

A report by The Mole from AAP