A bachelor pad essentially means a house (pad) in which a bachelor or bachelors (single men) live. It should not be confused with a bachelor apartment, which is a zero bedroom apartment where the main room serves as a bedroom, living room and dining room (and sometimes kitchen).
In the United Kingdom the term bachelor pad usually refers to a flat where a single young man lives alone. Most students in the UK are unable to afford this luxury, and are forced to live with other students, hence the heightened social status attributed to this particular sense of the phrase.
In the United States it generally refers to small houses or apartments where unmarried men, often college students, live until they obtain larger or more luxurious houses or apartments, are married, or generally "move up" in standards of living and taste.
During the 1950s and 60s, the bachelor pad was considered one of the ultimate possessions for a young career-minded man. In this space, he was able to decorate his apartment with style to fit his tastes. For much of the early 20th century, the female presence in the home dominated while it was a man's responsibility to become the breadwinner. In the 1950s, men's attitudes about marriage changed with the representation and openness of sexuality featured on screen. At this point, the thought of being single was welcomed, and most men felt comfortable to court a number of women freely. The bachelor pad then became a symbol of the 1950s cosmopolitan male, and a typical "pad" included: a bar, an array of artwork, furniture (usually designed by a well-known architect), minimal decór, and a Hi-fi system for entertaining.
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