Mansplaining is everywhere. At work. At family gatherings. On social media. On dates.
It is common and cringeworthy at the same time. It’s an issue that needs to be talked about and addressed because knowledge knows no gender.
Recently on Valentine’s Day, a Twitter user asked people what was the most obvious thing that was mansplained to them. There’d be many, right?
In honor of Valentine’s Day, what’s the most obvious thing you’ve ever been mansplained about?
— OG (or just old) JJ (@J_Dot_J) February 14, 2021
Mine was once mentioning a 30(b)(6) depo for work on here, and a guy sent me the text of the rule and offered to send me a PowerPoint that explains what a corporate representative is.
Several women found it relatable and shared their experiences. While the stories where women gave educated responses are funny, others are outrightly frustrating.
I was interviewing a CEO who insisted we go into an industrial garage. It was 100°+ w/dew points in 60’s. He was screaming at staff (caught on camera) to turn on swamp coolers. I mentioned they’d likely be ineffective due to humidity. His response: “What are you, a weather girl?” https://t.co/9V4Y7ufFu4
— Kelley Moody KCCI (@KelleyMoodyKCCI) February 19, 2021
Asked what breed my puppy was (cocker spaniel) then asked if I was sure because he ‘looks like a golden retriever’ ….ehh nope https://t.co/0hiehcuZ6x pic.twitter.com/dyABgxkL9F
— Amy Macauley (she/her) (@AMacauleySLT2B) February 17, 2021
The runway configuration of an airport … which happened to be the same airport where I got my pilot’s license. https://t.co/wcWadjDqmc
— Hilary Wynne (@Hilary_Wynne) February 16, 2021
My coworker saying giving birth isn’t that bad, but everyone is different. Or this same coworker saying how women these days always tend to put off having babies for careers and how they shouldn’t do that. https://t.co/f4zYiv1bgE
— melanie ☀️ (@mvlaniee__) February 19, 2021
I had a man mansplain why my vagina might have a scent, on a post making fun of said vaginal scent. SIR!? Excuse me!? https://t.co/qrHsKH1nGr
— vvitchmist (@vvitchmist) February 16, 2021
I’m a little late but it’s the time a guy told me that there were absolutely no sharks in the Mediterranean because his grandma told him so 🙄 and yes he insisted even though he knew I was a marine biologist. It was a first date and needless to say it was the last https://t.co/eb8LAQw9tj
— Anela Akiona (@AnelaAkiona) February 21, 2021
I used to be a health insurance lawyer. Multiple older men have explained health insurance to me. I’d stop them to remind them what I did for a living and then…they’d finish their explanation.
— Suzyn Smith Webb (@Chalicechick) February 14, 2021
I was telling my ex-husband that there was this emerging term called ‘mansplaining’. He’d never heard it so I told him what it meant.
— Sommer Tothill (@sommertothill) February 16, 2021
He then proceeded to argue about what it really meant. Having literally just heard the term for the first time.
He mainsplained mainsplaining.
During play, they will stop the game to talk me why they wouldn’t have chosen a certain move I’ve chosen. Trust me. I know what I’m doing. I’m going to smoke your ass in 3 moves. And I always do.
— 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐬. (@celanousconcern) February 16, 2021
I don’t get a lot of second dates, but the satisfaction is worth it.
Once, after saying I don’t like Frozen, a dude starting explaining to me WHY I DIDN’T LIKE IT. https://t.co/HlnlnCEoe0
— 🦊DrapyArt🦊(STORE OPEN) (@Drapy_Art) February 16, 2021
Probably the time a date told me that my entire dissertation on human-robot relations was wrong because of something he read in an 80s anime
— Amy Gaeta (@GaetaAmy) February 14, 2021
My ex boyfriend tried to explain to me that my period pain was all in my head. This is while I was in bed crying and curled into a ball in pain.
— 🏳️🌈 Angel 🏳️🌈 (@angel_ponders) February 14, 2021
For the record, I’m gay now 🤣
I once had a man lecture me about Harry Potter during a long drive where I was captive audience. He said I completely missed the point of the books. I am the Hebrew translator of the Harry Potter books. He saw the first film, but never read the books.
— Gili Bar-Hillel (@gilibugg) February 16, 2021
I had a supervisor who said that periods were not an excuse to complain, call off, get extra breaks, etc. He said that by time you’re an adult, you should know how to deal with it.
— Adriane wants to travel ✈ (@Kagonu) February 16, 2021
My ex-husband was repairing a light fixture. He was about to connect a black wire to a white wire. I suggested he match the colors. His response: "A man built this, so a man would know how to fix it." I sat down and waited for him to turn the breaker back on, so I could hear 1/2
— She Ra (@Lisa_Mc_D) February 16, 2021
I was politely breaking up with a BF & he told me that I should really wait & think about it. He’d calculated that my period would start in a few days & I was probably just overly emotional. He proceeded to explain PMS to me.
— Jen Raymond (@jennrek) February 15, 2021
The breakup became less polite & much easier.
A math professor once decided to lecture me on the First World War.
— That’s DOCTOR emigre80 to you, mate. (@emigre80) February 14, 2021
This was after I told him that my dissertation on the First World War was about to be published.
AFTER I told him. Not before.
I was having a hysterosalpingogram and the male MD said it wouldn’t hurt at all. So, I asked him when he’d last had one. The nurses standing behind him were pumping their fists and giving me thumbs up.
— Judy Howard, Esq 😷 🇺🇸 (@JudyHallHoward) February 14, 2021
Me: 53 yo law professor with an extensive educational background in international relations, Russian, Soviet history, and economics. Him: 21 year old 1L with a degree in PoliSci from a Kansas school. “What you need to understand about Communism is supply and demand.”
— Andrea Boyack (@AndreaBoyack) February 14, 2021
Visiting rehearsals for a new play, I suggested a particular bit of dialogue be delivered in a light and humorous way. The actor told me this was a “pivotal moment in the character’s emotional arc” and I was “misinterpreting the playwright’s intent.” It was me. I wrote the play.
— Dr. Janice Hansen (@jjturlington) February 16, 2021
That girls can’t play bass guitar cuz our hands aren’t strong enough and we don’t understand music theory well enough… while I was literally playing bass. During a song. With my band.
— Terri M Roberts (@TMRobertshfx) February 16, 2021
* sigh *
Random man in restaurant heard me say to the server “sure, the patio is fine as long as we can sit at a shaded table” and said “actually, they’re now saying that sunscreen is worse than the sun.” I am a cancer epidemiologist with particular expertise in skin cancer.
— Dr. Cheryl Peters (@liz272) February 15, 2021
Walking out after the first Wonder Woman movie with a group of women & having a man explain to us why it was so important to see strong women on screen, which he understood because he had daughters.
— Dogsnapper (@dogsnapper) February 15, 2021
Have you ever been mansplained? What was your reaction?
