Mansplaining, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “to explain something to a woman in a condescending way that assumes she has no knowledge about the topic.”
Let that sink in for a minute. We have reached a cultural moment so profound that “mansplaining” was actually added to the dictionary.
Chances are, if you are a woman, you have been the recipient of mansplaining. Have you ever tried to do anything, or gone anywhere, or spoken something? Has a man then jumped in to offer never-asked-for help or his thoughts on the topic, or explained that you’re wrong and here’s why even though you know they’re wrong? That’s it, that’s mansplaining.
Unfortunately, it happens constantly to us wee, pea-brained womenfolk, so naturally, NYgal asked seven intelligent, confident, standout women to rehash their experiences.
Thankfully, no mansplaining occurred in the making of this article.
Erin, 28
So I worked for a chiropractor, who was the biggest misogynist in my life, and as his assistant, I had to help with exercises and therapies that weren’t part of the chiropractic. So, he tells me one day, in a condescending tone…
“Hey Erin, you’re going to have to help them with their therapies. Now, their therapy is how they do things. You know, stretching. Exercising is something different. Do you know what exercises are? Can you show me? OK, let’s do this.” He was the biggest asshole I’ve ever met in my life.
I also had a case of pharyngitis at one point so I had a very limited voice and I told my boss I couldn’t speak very loud. He told me “Wow, you don’t speak, you have to do what I tell you and look good in the office. You’re the perfect woman!” I wanted to slap the crap out of him.
Callie, 26
This one is just for the singers out there. My male choir director said to the alto section before they had to sing high with the sopranos, “You guys can do it. Just, you know, use your head voices.” Um…yes. Obviously.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Education
Bea, 23
I remember being in class and my teacher was wondering the difference between these two words in the play we were reading. I quickly Googled the words and told him the difference. About one second after doing this, the guy behind me said “Ah I know it! It’s this!” He then completely paraphrased the entire definition I just said. Yeah, I hate being “mansplained.”
Alice, 22
Cards on the table, I’ve gotten worse and worse about taking my birth control. And when you skip your birth control for a few days, your uterus is like: “Whoops, guess we’re done with hormones for right now. I’m going to bleed if that’s alright.” Basically, I’ve had a lot of accidental periods since beginning on the pill. And I was explaining this to another (female) friend who simply did not believe me. Her experience was that, even if you missed some pills, your period would only come at the end of the month (lucky duck).
So I moseyed on over to another group of women and asked them to corroborate my story. Which, lo and behold, they all did. Then suddenly a man walks up and begins trying to explain to us–no less than half a dozen women–how birth control pills work.
I’d tell you what he said, but we didn’t really let him speak long enough before shutting him down. After all, I wasn’t asking how birth control worked; I was confirming how it worked. Anyway, he defended himself saying that he was just parroting what his girlfriend had told him. Sorry bro, still mansplaining.
Moni, 21
A group of my girlfriends and I were in Student Union talking about the first times we got our periods, and a guy who was walking by actually came up to us and started explaining how periods worked and the average age of its onset. Periods, people. We let him get about two sentences out before we starting berating him.
Image Credit: Pexels
Rachel, 25
I hate when guys come up to me in the gym when I’m lifting, asking if I need help or if I know how to use the machine correctly while simultaneously checking out my ass. Um, excuse me, back off. I’m a personal trainer, I know what I’m doing, it’s your shitty form that needs fixing.
Vanessa, 24
Back when I visited my parents, I took my mom’s car to a mechanic because her front left tire was leaking. When the guy took the tire off the car, he managed to patch the hole, but then tried to convince me to get snow tires.
It was October and not my car, so I said no. He started literally yelling at me that I was making a mistake and that I obviously didn’t know anything about cars to know that this was a good decision. I was really proud of myself for not flipping the guy off when I finally drove away.
Do you have a mansplaining story too juicy not to share? Drop us a comment, we would love to hear it!
Feature Image Credit: Pixabay
