Pro Tips to Deal With Mansplainers

Mansplaining is essentially when a man explains something to a woman in a way that is a condescending, oversimplified, or patronizing way. For a lot of us this menace sparks outrage and frustration however, for some, the problem is too minimal.

Explaining something to opposite gender regardless of the sex. If someone doesn’t know or understand something, and a man does, then he should explain it. Men can, without offence, explain things to women and other men. On the other hand, women too can explain things to men, and other women. This is not considered Mansplaining.
When a male mansplains something to a woman, he takes over an ongoing conversation by interrupting and explaining to the woman of the topic of discussion despite her having full knowledge of it. This is a result of men assuming that they more information regardless of whether the woman is an expert in that particular field or not.

Why it’s wrong

Mansplaining is disrespectful and wrong because the topics of discussions are unique to women such as their body, experiences and fields of their expertise. This notion implies that the woman subservient lacks knowledge, autonomy and is incapable of having authoritative knowledge.
Mansplaining is a gendered issue stemming in cultures where the voices of males are valued over the voice of women. A more cringe situation is when a close friend or loved one, without understanding what they are doing, mansplains to you. It can be difficult to deal with such an intricate scenario.

Top tips

Notice, observe and feel the narratives that arise inside you when you are mansplained. Instead of reacting immediately, pay attention to your internal world and notice how your mind and body feel. You may think to yourself, “I literally know more about this than he does” or “Does he think I’m an idiot” or “Just stop talking”.

An empowering way to deal with the dynamic is by saying “What you’re doing right now is Mansplaining”. There isn’t any need for you to explain it. Although you would want the mansplainer to understand his actions, it’s not your job, it is his job to educate himself.
Go ahead by describing how you feel about the action – “It feels extremely insulting and condescending”. Hold your position by saying something like “I actually know what you’re talking about”.
End the conversation by being direct­­- “moving forward, please be mindful of Mansplaining. Always ask me whether I’m well-read in the matter before proceeding to assume that you know more”.

Helpful explanations regarding Mansplaining

Anatomy of a mansplainer

 A helpful chart made by Kim Goodwin for her colleagues that went viral