Men deserve to have men-only spaces, where they learn from each other, socialize and cooperate. Men-only spaces can be a growth opportunity.
However, more often than not, these men-only spaces quickly become chauvinistic. Men are encouraged by other men to lie to women, objectify women, and to generally treat women as inferior. And it's these very same attitudes that lead to so much of the physical, mental, and emotional violence women face, from men.
I disagree with your characterization that TLR is like the barber shop you've described, bc the celebrity gossip threads and "victim threads" are created almost always by men, not women. They are not created for the benefit of women. They are made by men, for other men to weigh in on. I also disagree because these kind of threads didn't just start to spring up with the influx of women posters. Many threads all over the forum, especially in The Booth, are essentially celebrity gossip threads and it's always been that way.
Men gossip a whole lot.