Article: Sbu Mpungose from women24

In the township, a teenage boy with a backroom is king. Instead of sleeping with his siblings, parents, aunts and cousins in a four-room like any other boy, he has the freedom to watch Emannuel on e.tv at midnight without being caught or to rent out his room to friends thus turning it into a brothel.

But some men never grow or even move out of their single-roomed havens. Just ask Cape Town women who often maintain men still hanging on to their mother's apron strings. Some men think that having a baby-face means they're still babies who need mommy's cooking and free lodging.

This fully grown man-child, who's often heard kwaMzoli boasting about the fact the he only lets the most expensive whisky pass his lips, is sometimes still sleeping in the single bed where his seven-year-old first born son was conceived.

But some do upgrade their rooms. In most cases this sort of man loves ladies but has to date takalanis (teens) who'll be impressed with his bar fridge and stainless-steal bin.

Phela, no grown woman who has her own place could ever put up with the drama of being sneaked into a backroom. It's always the same miserable show: first the family dogs bark because they do not recognise your Moonlight Drops perfume and then he has to check i-coast to see who is still awake (that is if he has any respect for his family). Usually, if he fears his mother or some strict aunt, you are guaranteed to spend a couple of passionless minutes waiting for the lights to go off.

But a man that has lost all respect for his parents and children drags you through the living room while the family is still being entertained by Generations.

At this very awkward moment you grip your Chicken Licken, while hanging on to your clutch bag and mumble a couple of words in greeting. This gives his family ample opportunity to judge you as a Jezebel or yet another of abuti Frans' new girlfriends aka victim.

In his backroom you enter another world. It can either be an upmarket little space that rivals the showrooms of Coricraft. You would have noticed as you sped through his family kitchen that there were no electrical appliances to speak of. But Mr Man here has splashed out and has kitted his room such that you know you're in the presence of greatness... while his family struggles to boil water for tea.

Or you could find that his room is quite bare, even after years of working. And as you hang your Jenni Button coat on a lonesome nail in the wall, he shares with you a plate of food his mother cooked, and his dream of buying a BMW with no mention of moving out and getting a place of his own.

Is Sbu right, or is the Man-Child just misunderstood? Tell us in the comment box below.

This column originally appeared in Move! magazine, Township Talk. Sbu is the Editor of Move! magazine. Check her out in the latest issue now!

Disclaimer: Women24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Women24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Women24.