Mansplaining

[seatonsluicetoon]

Can I ask a forum of what I think is entirely male posters what their understanding of mansplaining is? Certain people I follow on twitter will often retweet posts by women highlighting misogyny or examples of them being patronised. That’s all fine but woe betide anyone male should try and enter into any kind of discussion in the comments underneath because they will be immediately jumped upon and accused of ‘mansplaining’. It seems like one of those trump card words where once someone’s been accused of it they can’t, nor have they any right to, defend their corner for fear of a barrage of abuse. It takes away any man’s ability to have rational debate and it seems so immature on the part of the women who won’t have a discussion, or even answer genuine questions.

We’re in a climate now where women are taking a stand for centuries of being second class citizens but I would question how much of the anger is genuine and how much of it is jumping on an online bandwagon. I do not question anyone’s right to equality but I don’t like the obnoxious way that right is sometimes flaunted. Perhaps my white male privalege means I will never understand it.

Horrible word though. Just like selfie. I really hate modern life sometimes!

[Colback's Orange Tufts]

Maybe sometimes it's misused/overused, but I think mansplaining is a real and common thing. I have worked in two male dominated industries using alot of numerical methods and I see it happening alot. Still a subconscious perception of numerical stuff as male. In my old physics life I'd see it happen to female colleagues alot. I can't think of examples, but I wouldn't be surprised if I previously have slipped into it.
You see classic examples online, like some bloke explaining Roman culture to Mary Beard. Or when a woman on twitter makes a dumb pun/joke and someone pipes up with 'actually...'. In terms of it being used 'obnoxiously' I think on the comparative the tide of obnoxious behavior men put onto women is larger. And often these 'debates' are not wanted by the women, Ie a woman says something and a random man pops up arguing; when she doesn't bother to engage he will be like "oh you can't even have a debate nowadays", when infact she'd just got better things to do

As for the term being horrible, it's a bit messy but I think it comes from manspreading so I can see why.

[seatonsluicetoon]

There’s an irony in demanding equality but then shutting down the opposite sex just because they weren’t invited to the discussion. Twitter is an open forum much like this one.

I am the only man in my work so I don’t come across what you’re saying but i have no doubt it’s true. I actually work in childcare so I am the ‘female mathemetician’ in this instance.

In the instance that inspired me to write this thread the man wasn’t being aggressive or saying women couldn’t handle a debate, he was simply being shut down based on not meeting the biological criteria. Again I have no doubt that what you have described also happens in abundance and perhaps the example I’ve read today is just women painting men with a wide brush.

Manspreading is also a horrible word.

[overseasTOON]

I was accused of mansplaining once at a BBQ by a woman who just happened to overhear my conversation and I defended myself by stating the lady I was explaining something to was as thick as pig s*** left to dry in the sun.

[bodacious benny]

That's the first time I've ever heard that word

[seatonsluicetoon]

That's the first time I've ever heard that word

I envy you.

[Sir Bobby]

Basically just a term used to try and squash an opponent’s disagreeable views. It may have started with humourous intentions about how men have views on women’s issues (heaven forbid people have opinions on things not directly affecting them). However it’s now used as a proxy for “I don’t want to debate an idea with you since I feel you may have a point so will shut your voice down”. It works both ways though, there’s plenty of talk implying a woman is too emotional to have a debate for example

[Hjl]

Next time a woman says that, remind her that the only reason she is allowed any rights or opinions at all is because men let her have them.

It's guaranteed to cool the situation down.

[Micky Quim]

I am also lucky enough to have never heard this word.

In my industry we are actively encouraged to positively discriminate against men during recruitment which completely infuriates me

[skalpel]

Basically just a term used to try and squash an opponent’s disagreeable views. It may have started with humourous intentions about how men have views on women’s issues (heaven forbid people have opinions on things not directly affecting them). However it’s now used as a proxy for “I don’t want to debate an idea with you since I feel you may have a point so will shut your voice down”. It works both ways though, there’s plenty of talk implying a woman is too emotional to have a debate for example

This is it. It went along with "manspreading" (men taking up room on a seat by not keeping their legs together, somehow being an aggressive assertion of phallic power) as one of those stupid terms spread by radical feminists (ie. shrill and argumentative goons who do injustice to the noble title of Feminist) who can't bear the idea of their views not being forced onto everyone else and who get excited about forcing a wedge in society between men and women. Yes, some men will think that women need things explaining to them, but then I worked in a bookshop about ten years ago with about eight women and no men and was consistently patronised with an "oh men, bless them, they don't get things intuitively and need to be guided because they're all too busy thinking about sex, beer and football" attitude, which subjected me to regular explanations about how to do the simplest things on the presumption that I would otherwise be unable to carry out the task. Some people are patronising assholes.

[Jaiston]

Only reason I know of the word.

[Donkey Toon]

Basically just a term used to try and squash an opponent’s disagreeable views. It may have started with humourous intentions about how men have views on women’s issues (heaven forbid people have opinions on things not directly affecting them). However it’s now used as a proxy for “I don’t want to debate an idea with you since I feel you may have a point so will shut your voice down”. It works both ways though, there’s plenty of talk implying a woman is too emotional to have a debate for example

This is it. It went along with "manspreading" (men taking up room on a seat by not keeping their legs together, somehow being an aggressive assertion of phallic power) as one of those stupid terms spread by radical feminists (ie. shrill and argumentative goons who do injustice to the noble title of Feminist) who can't bear the idea of their views not being forced onto everyone else and who get excited about forcing a wedge in society between men and women. Yes, some men will think that women need things explaining to them, but then I worked in a bookshop about ten years ago with about eight women and no men and was consistently patronised with an "oh men, bless them, they don't get things intuitively and need to be guided because they're all too busy thinking about sex, beer and football" attitude, which subjected me to regular explanations about how to do the simplest things on the presumption that I would otherwise be unable to carry out the task. Some people are patronising assholes.

This. I take it as a term made up by feminists to describe when a man patronisingly explains something to a woman, with the added implication that it is only men that do this sort of thing and that it never happens in reverse. Which is of course bollocks.

[Chappy]

Only reason I know of the word.

Couldn't get through the whole of that video. That woman was unbearable.

[beatski]

Only reason I know of the word.

Couldn't get through the whole of that video. That woman was unbearable.

SEXIST PIG

[bodacious benny]

Burn him good

[Don Sholeone]

Mansplaining is a so called "comical word" within certain feminist circles that's primarily used as a way nullify someones opinion based entirely on their gender. The usage of it is pretty sinister in that a lot of people think it's just some throwaway term when in reality it's pretty damaging to gaining actual equality and alienates a lot of men from actually joining the debate and fight for gender equality.

[Toondes]

Just tell the b****es to shut the f*** up.

[Hjl]

Just tell the b****es to shut the **** up.

Preferably in the voice of Black Dynamite.

[krully]

the amount of times I see ladies on the bus with either their feet up or the bag on the seat next to them, what a terrible world these people have