Mansplaining: when a man explains something to someone, typically a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing. It could be an idea or a fact, but the point is that the woman either already knows or really doesn't need this idea or fact to be explained to her in the first place. Unfortunately, every woman has probably been mansplained to - and for most, all their lives. The sad thing is that men don't even realize they are doing it. Writer Maud Dromgoole shared one of her worst examples of mansplaining she's ever experienced.
And that was when all hell broke loose.
The initial story
"Man in pub who has been mansplaining sexual harassment to me. Tells me me necklace gives me a certain 'Je ne sais quoi'
Him: Do you know what je ne sais quoi means?
Me:I don’t know what.
Him:I’ll tell you. It’s a certain extra special something. I don’t know the literal translation"
"I don't know what."
For those of you paying attention at home, a quick Google translate reveals that "je ne sais quoi" literally means "I do not know what" in French. Maud was answering the man's question, and he was too full of himself and ignorant to realize it.
Men cannot help themselves, as they try to mansplain the mansplaining.
After Maud posted her story, man after man... after man, couldn't help but continue to mansplain. They corrected. They clarified. They defended men in general, explained to the women on the thread what it's like to be a woman, or complained how "mansplaining" is unfair persecution of men. It's a contagious epidemic!
And the men do not even seem to realize they are making it so much worse.
This guy doesn't get it:
"If I tell you his explanation was correct, would I be accused of 'mansplaining?"
This guy does:
"How! How is this happening? It's like lemmings off a cliff"
Some men even claim that mansplaining is not a thing.
The rest of that Twitter conversation did not go well for Rich. Maybe next time he should listen to the women he's taken upon himself to educate.
Men just do not get the hint that they need to shut up.
Mansplainapalooza
"The most succinct example of a conversation I have every day."
After more than a thousand comments later, Maud spoke with indy100 to share her thoughts on what happened to her post's thread.
I think I shared it because it made me laugh.It felt like the most succinct example of a conversation I have everyday.
Working in a pub people (and I mean men really) assume that you’re less intelligent than them and also that they have the right to monopolize your time.
This particular man had taken it upon himself to ‘educate’ me on a whole host of topics that he didn’t know anything about before we had this exchange.
She added:
The comments section is a perfect mess.Particularly the men who have tried to helpfully explain the situation back to me without understanding it at all.
Many people have taken issue with the fact I’ve used the term mansplain.
But in my experience I do find it an exclusively male behavior.
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