What Does Mansplaining Mean?
Have you ever been in a situation when someone wants to dominate you by boasting of his knowledge? Such people are called mansplainers. This article will help you know Mansplaining meaning, how it differs from explaining, and how to identify a mansplainer.
Let’s start exploring all about Mansplaining!
What is Mansplaining?
Mansplaining is a derogatory phrase that means “to make an overconfident, condescending, and often erroneous or simplistic statement on or explanation to a woman.” In other words, it is a certain way in which a man explains certain things to women thinking that he understands and knows more when there is no need to articulate it to them.
Sometimes, when someone is mansplaining it gives an impression that he wants to make others inferior by showing that he is more knowledgeable, and the next person is stupid.
Origin of Term
Men Explain Things to Me, Rebeca Solnit wrote an essay in 2008 that later turned into a book in 2014, is credited with coining the term “Mansplaining.” She describes an event in her book in which a man condescendingly proposes she read a book without realizing she is the one who wrote it. Even though Solnit did not develop this phrase, the book crystallized the concept. It soon entered the lexicon, where feminists used it worldwide to express their dissatisfaction with this widespread occurrence.
What is the Difference between Mansplaining and Explaining?
Mansplaining is when a man has created a fantasy situation where he is wiser and tends to explain to you things you already know and expect you to drool in awe. The tone is either arrogant, rude, or ironic. In contrast, the explanation is when someone genuinely wants to correct you and increase your knowledge in a resectable way.
How to Know if someone is Mansplaining?
The first sign of Mansplaining is an unfounded and unwarned arrogant tone. Secondly, he would be telling you something you already know and understand better than him. And lastly, the purpose would be to degrade you or make you silent.
Mansplaining Examples
- A man explains coding to you when you are a programmer yourself.
- Your husband or father-in-law telling you that you are breastfeeding your baby in the wrong way.
- A man is comparing his minor kidney stone sufferings to labor pain in front of you.
How to Know if you are the Mansplainer at Your Workplace?
You are a Mansplainer, if;
- You try to dominate the conversation to let down the woman thinking she knows nothing.
- You become rude.
- If anyway you are giving any mean gesture to your female coworker to make her feel inferior.
- You are explaining to her the job she is pro at.
- You are not paying attention to issues raised by female staff, considering they are not worth it.
Interesting Facts About Mansplaining
- Mansplaining could also be an ironic gesture or a sound like hunh, a peal of mean laughter, a facial expression, or any nonverbal or verbal gesture full of overconfidence.
- It was found that 75% of women remain silent during the workplace, so men try to understand things by Mansplaining.
- Mansplaining is used in sense of gender discrimination to make women realize they can’t understand things without an explanation provided by men.
- Perception of competence is linked with Mansplaining.
We hope you can identify the signs of Mansplaining and can better know how to avoid this and manage this. For more interesting words, stay connected with us!