On top of all the cat-calling, sexism and a distinct lack of pockets in our clothing, us
women also have to deal with this great thing we like to call 'mansplaining'. If you're not familiar with the concept, it's basically a term to describe an interaction in which a dude very patronizingly explains a fairly simple term to a woman - either because he believes that she doesn't understand it, or just as an excuse to get in on a conversation he probably wasn't invited into.
Now, I must begin with an obligatory 'not all men' disclaimer because, of course, not every dude on the planet is guilty of committing the crime of mansplaining (much like not all guys hurl abuse at us in the street, or make sexist jokes, or commit any form of harassment or abuse). However,
enough guys do it for it to be noticeable to us, so you can understand why it gets on our nerves a little bit.
A prime example of this would be that one time a man tried to explain the costumes in Indiana Jones... to the woman who designed them:
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Uptomyknees/status/918000049786892288]]
However, an even more amazing example has emerged on Twitter, and it's almost too perfect to believe.
Maud Dromgoole, who describes herself in her bio as a writer, tweeted about an incident in which a guy in a pub was trying to mansplain sexual harassment to her (a topic with which women are pretty familiar). During their interaction, the man used the phrase, "je ne sais quoi", and, well, I'll let the tweet tell the rest -
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/mauddromgoole/status/931918190900281345]]
In a display of the manliest of mansplainery, this guy literally asked Maud a question, got the correct answer, and ignored her so that he could proceed to tell her the wrong answer.
And if that wasn't enough already,
another dude chipped in on the chain of Twitter responses in order to mansplain what had gone on:
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/evileuropean/status/932190867028398081]]
Essentially, he heard someone tell a joke, then explained the punchline of the joke to that very same person.
And he wasn't the only one, either:
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/drskyskull/status/932472917757227009]]
Meanwhile, others decided to mansplain that mansplaining is not a legit thing... to the people who are on the receiving end of it.
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/sassyheathen/status/932320736236195840]]
I guess I can see why the term may offend some men, but there's a simple solution to not being branded as a mansplainer: don't mansplain.
This isn't to say you can't help out a woman by teaching her something new, or sharing a piece of knowledge you think she'll find interesting. That's totally fine. What we don't like, however, is when guys try to tell us something we already know, or insist to be an authority on something when they're clearly not. Especially as, when women try to do this, we're just called bossy.
No, it's not the most important
issue affecting women at the moment, and, yes, I realize that it
may be a minority of men who perpetuate this behavior. However, it's still one of those little things that gets brushed aside as a non-issue, yet continues to
affect women on a daily basis.
So, if you're a guy, maybe be a little more self-conscious about whether or not you could come across as patronizing. And, if you're not a guy, don't be afraid to call out mansplaining when you see it. A lot of men probably don't realize they're doing it, and may appreciate a friendly heads-up to let them know they could come across as a tiny bit offensive.
