Male Coworkers Were Asking This Woman Whether They Were ‘Mansplaining’, So She Created A Chart
Mansplaining is defined as when a man tries to explain something to a woman in an oversimplified manner, often in a patronizing tone. The problem arises from a noxious mixture of overinflated ego, based on the flawed assumption of the male chauvinist that men simply know better, and clueless ignorance of the knowledge and capabilities that modern women wield with a tinge of sexism on top of it all.
It needn’t necessarily be a gendered issue, some people are simply arrogant and get a smug sense of satisfaction from talking down to people, regardless of their sex. But it is pervasive enough to have been identified as a problem that we must tackle. So guys, how do you know when you’re mansplaining? It really shouldn’t be too difficult, just don’t assume that you are more knowledgeable about something, simply because you own a penis. Still not clear with this passive sexism example? Twitter user Kim Goodwin decided that she would lay it out in terms that even an idiot could understand, using a simple, classic flow chart.
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Her post quickly went viral, with people applauding her creative and accurate way of getting her point across. And while there were some (mostly male) detractors, the thread was enlightening as people took to the topic, and shared their own experiences of mansplaining and sexism in the workplace. Scroll down below to check it out for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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Here’s what people had to say about the amusing and informative chart
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Mansplaining often happens by a man explaining back to a woman something she litterally just explained to him one minute before. So not only is it condescending, but it makes him look stupid.
Why not just condemn condescending and baseless explanations? Why gender it for no reason? We could have agreed! I've experienced this from both men and women, its not sexism, its just regular a*****e-ness.
Because our behavior is largely gendered. Men are 'typically' more assertive, more likely to interrupt, more likely to speak, more likely to ask questions, more likely to feel qualified, more likely to feel assured in their opinions, etc. Women are 'typically' more reserved, they are less likely to speak up, less likely to interrupt, less likely to ask questions, less confident in their abilities and qualifications, etc. Furthermore, men are far less likely to be corrected for interrupting while women who interrupt are more likely to be reprimanded. They do studies on this all the time. The reason why she focuses on gender is because gender matters a lot. Statistics tell us just how much gender matters. It isn't for no reason, the reason is because we know from study after study that women disproportionately suffer from this behavior.
Load More Replies...Never heard the term before but I'm probably guilty of womansplaining some obvious things to guys, too... Seems that all of us can be equally annoying :D
I think you didn't get it, let me explain it in easy terms... Sorry, couldn't resist.
Load More Replies...It is mansplaining if you wouldn't say the same thing to another man.
I am an adult male married to an adult female. I have grown to despise men. Hardware stores and auto repair shops are the worst! They treat her with such contempt it infuriates me. When I need help at Lowes, I seek out a woman employee because most men will proclaim knowledge when they are totally ignorant. C'mon guys, woman up!
So true, Bruce! I went to buy a new orbital sander because I wore out my old one. The clerk (20 years younger than me) was so smirky and annoying! He wanted to know if I wanted to call my husband to see if I was getting the right brand. Puke!
Load More Replies...For the men complaining that this has been unnecessarily gendered, she starts off her post with "I have had more than one male colleague sincerely ask" << THAT is why it's gendered. For my own part, let me choose one of a thousand examples. I was training a new driver, when a male co-worker who had been there for about 6 weeks walked up. I introduced them, stating that I was training the new driver. The male co-worker then proceeded to to tell the new driver half of what I had just covered. When I said, we've already covered that, he held his hand up in my face to tell to me wait while he explained things. About half of what he said was wrong.
I get mansplained to fairly often. Yesterday the mansplainer was an auto repair shop employee who told me how it takes an hour for them to sell me a battery and replace it. I assumed he thought that I don't know what kind of car I drive and that I've never had to replace a car battery. I went to a different shop and they took care of my purchase in less than 15 minutes. This would not be statiscally significant, except I had the same experience on September when I needed a battery for my RV . Men often talk down to me at work, at least until I start talking and they realize that I'm a subject matter expert.
This reminds me of something, actually. My boyfriend works in a small plumbing store. They have a parts counter, a showroom, and a stockroom. ALL the women hired by this store work the showroom or as a cashier. Men can work all areas of the store. But no women have ever worked in the parts counter. It's like there's this pervasive idea that 'women can't know plumbing parts!!' and they don't even train them for the job-- my boyfriend was trained up and knew nothing when he started. No women do stock, either. Your story about the auto shop just reminded me of how incredibly gendered certain jobs are perceived as being, to the point where nobody bats an eye or even stops to think why all the women hired go work in the showroom and all the men in parts. It's really weird how pervasive it is.
Load More Replies...The worst one I ever saw was a guy telling women how to be women. It was a spectacular wtf moment.
Yes, one of my ex-boyfriends explained to me about bra’s.. completely wrong and I had been wearing them for years and years at the time.
Load More Replies...Mansplaining often happens by a man explaining back to a woman something she litterally just explained to him one minute before. So not only is it condescending, but it makes him look stupid.
Why not just condemn condescending and baseless explanations? Why gender it for no reason? We could have agreed! I've experienced this from both men and women, its not sexism, its just regular a*****e-ness.
Because our behavior is largely gendered. Men are 'typically' more assertive, more likely to interrupt, more likely to speak, more likely to ask questions, more likely to feel qualified, more likely to feel assured in their opinions, etc. Women are 'typically' more reserved, they are less likely to speak up, less likely to interrupt, less likely to ask questions, less confident in their abilities and qualifications, etc. Furthermore, men are far less likely to be corrected for interrupting while women who interrupt are more likely to be reprimanded. They do studies on this all the time. The reason why she focuses on gender is because gender matters a lot. Statistics tell us just how much gender matters. It isn't for no reason, the reason is because we know from study after study that women disproportionately suffer from this behavior.
Load More Replies...Never heard the term before but I'm probably guilty of womansplaining some obvious things to guys, too... Seems that all of us can be equally annoying :D
I think you didn't get it, let me explain it in easy terms... Sorry, couldn't resist.
Load More Replies...It is mansplaining if you wouldn't say the same thing to another man.
I am an adult male married to an adult female. I have grown to despise men. Hardware stores and auto repair shops are the worst! They treat her with such contempt it infuriates me. When I need help at Lowes, I seek out a woman employee because most men will proclaim knowledge when they are totally ignorant. C'mon guys, woman up!
So true, Bruce! I went to buy a new orbital sander because I wore out my old one. The clerk (20 years younger than me) was so smirky and annoying! He wanted to know if I wanted to call my husband to see if I was getting the right brand. Puke!
Load More Replies...For the men complaining that this has been unnecessarily gendered, she starts off her post with "I have had more than one male colleague sincerely ask" << THAT is why it's gendered. For my own part, let me choose one of a thousand examples. I was training a new driver, when a male co-worker who had been there for about 6 weeks walked up. I introduced them, stating that I was training the new driver. The male co-worker then proceeded to to tell the new driver half of what I had just covered. When I said, we've already covered that, he held his hand up in my face to tell to me wait while he explained things. About half of what he said was wrong.
I get mansplained to fairly often. Yesterday the mansplainer was an auto repair shop employee who told me how it takes an hour for them to sell me a battery and replace it. I assumed he thought that I don't know what kind of car I drive and that I've never had to replace a car battery. I went to a different shop and they took care of my purchase in less than 15 minutes. This would not be statiscally significant, except I had the same experience on September when I needed a battery for my RV . Men often talk down to me at work, at least until I start talking and they realize that I'm a subject matter expert.
This reminds me of something, actually. My boyfriend works in a small plumbing store. They have a parts counter, a showroom, and a stockroom. ALL the women hired by this store work the showroom or as a cashier. Men can work all areas of the store. But no women have ever worked in the parts counter. It's like there's this pervasive idea that 'women can't know plumbing parts!!' and they don't even train them for the job-- my boyfriend was trained up and knew nothing when he started. No women do stock, either. Your story about the auto shop just reminded me of how incredibly gendered certain jobs are perceived as being, to the point where nobody bats an eye or even stops to think why all the women hired go work in the showroom and all the men in parts. It's really weird how pervasive it is.
Load More Replies...The worst one I ever saw was a guy telling women how to be women. It was a spectacular wtf moment.
Yes, one of my ex-boyfriends explained to me about bra’s.. completely wrong and I had been wearing them for years and years at the time.
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