No matter famous or successful you are, there seems to be no chance of escaping someone trying to explain your own profession or area of expertise to you if you're a woman.
Olympian Molly Seidel shared her story of a man on her flight who mansplained her own running training to her.
On my flight was talking to a guy next to me & it came up that I run. He starts telling me how I need to train high mileage & pulls up an analysis he\u2019d made of a pro runner\u2019s training on his phone.\nThe pro runner was me. It was my training. \nDidn\u2019t have the heart to tell him.— Molly Seidel (@Molly Seidel) 1630117758
Seidel's recent neighbor on a flight talked with her and got on the subject of running.
She shared she also runs, which is when the other passenger decided to immediately mansplain rather than ask any questions that might have avoided this embarrassing situation.
Seidel recently got the bronze during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon. The event was surprisingly only her third attempt at a marathon.
Such a performance would likely be chalked up to her training. This is why many are studying her schedule.
When the other passenger told Seidel she needed to train high mileage, he pulled up an analysis he made of a professional runner's training schedule.
Little did he know, the professional runner he referenced was the one he was trying to explain it to.
This. Is. The. Difference.— earlgreyhot (@earlgreyhot) 1630186518
Why did "being nice" look like assuming a woman he doesn't know is less informed than he is? Why did he launch directly into *advising* rather than *inquiring* to see if she was more/less knowledgeable than he? The issue here is the all-too-common male assumption of superiority.— Olivia Meikle (rhymes with pickle) (@Olivia Meikle (rhymes with pickle)) 1630166218
Right here. Yep.— Wakandan Pundit (@Wakandan Pundit) 1630151442
I love how many men there are on here trying to justify his manspraining\u2026— Jess (@Jess) 1630140193
The overlap of \u201crunner talk\u201d and mansplaining can\u2019t be overstated.— Rrraac_heelll (@Rrraac_heelll) 1630123053
Seidel's bronze medal win was incredibly surprising.
The Olympic qualifier in February was her first marathon and she came in second. At the 2020 Olympics themselves, she clocked just under two and a half hours on her third marathon, granting her third place.
Her skill and training are to be admired, but you'd think with how famous her story is in running, another runner would at least recognize her before embarrassing themselves.
But mansplaining isn't really about knowledge.
Or self awareness.
That is pretty damn hilarious— Marianna P (@Marianna P) 1630225168
No, Mike, if he sat next to you he'd talk about his training, not assume a position of dominance in the conversation. How about you let women handle this one.— Victoria Weinstein (@Victoria Weinstein) 1630173283
Honey, I've had so-called progressive men mansplain feminist theory to me. Your second point doesn't hold.— Victoria Weinstein (@Victoria Weinstein) 1630172593
I agree. The number of men who are experts at identifying mansplaining is crazy. \u201cI hate mansplaining and try to call it out\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s what she meant\u201d\u2026.sad.— Molly McCloskey (@Molly McCloskey) 1630203477
I told a male accountant I took the CPA exam once. He said something about it being hard and discouraging but I should not give up. I told him since I passed it all the first time I took it I didn\u2019t see a need to take it again.— Sally A (@Sally A) 1630268992
Seidel's tweet has tens of thousands of reactions. Women keep sharing their own stories of being mansplained.
Maybe we could start teaching men to ask questions rather than just immediately start talking over women like they've been waiting for a man to come along and explain everything to them.
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AMC