At some point some feminist academic (or other type of author of feminist literature) came up with the term "mansplaining". It referred to one particular behavior: The kind where, in a conversation with several people, if there's a woman present, and some kind of technical or less-than-trivial term is used, one of the men will proceed, unprompted, to explain to the woman what the term means, because he assumes that she doesn't understand the term because she's a woman, and women don't understand technical subjects, or whatever the subject of the discussion is.
It might also happen in an one-to-one conversation, with a man and a woman, where the man likewise simply assumes that the woman doesn't understand eg. technical terms because she's a woman, and proceeds to explain them when he uses them, in a rather patronizing manner. (This may be especially egregious if the woman is eg. working in the exact same field as the man, and the conversation is about that field.)
The term is, of course, a portmanteau of "man" and "explaining", referring to the man explaining terminology and concepts to a woman because he assumes that she doesn't understand the meaning otherwise, just because she's a woman, and women don't understand complicated technical stuff.
Personally I don't have a problem with pointing out that kind of patronizing behavior, because it does happen. There really are men out there that are morons. The only objection I have to it is its alleged frequency: Feminists imply that it happens all the time, and is pretty much a daily occurrence everywhere. I would contend that while it does indeed happen, it's much, much rarer than the feminists are implying.
Anyway, while the term itself may have a reasonable basis in reality, the major problem is that feminists themselves don't actually know that meaning, and are using it (like they always do with basically any term used to criticize men) as a generic insult.
They will use the term, as an accusation, if a man simply disagrees with a woman on something, even though the meaning of the term has absolutely nothing to do with disagreements or arguments. If a man presents a differing opinion, or a counterpoint, or a refutation, or in any other way does not fully agree with a woman, that's somehow "mansplaining".
In fact, if you ever encounter the term being used out there, chances are that it's not being used with its original meaning. Very good chances. In fact, I don't remember witnessing a single use (eg. in a blog post, or a YouTube video, or any sort of televised event) of the term that was accurate. It's always used to just try to dismiss what a man is saying, without actually refuting his arguments.
Ironically, that in itself could be called "feminisplaining": Feminists throwing insults in a patronizing manner at men who simply disagree with them, dismissing the argument without actually addressing or refuting it.
It might also happen in an one-to-one conversation, with a man and a woman, where the man likewise simply assumes that the woman doesn't understand eg. technical terms because she's a woman, and proceeds to explain them when he uses them, in a rather patronizing manner. (This may be especially egregious if the woman is eg. working in the exact same field as the man, and the conversation is about that field.)
The term is, of course, a portmanteau of "man" and "explaining", referring to the man explaining terminology and concepts to a woman because he assumes that she doesn't understand the meaning otherwise, just because she's a woman, and women don't understand complicated technical stuff.
Personally I don't have a problem with pointing out that kind of patronizing behavior, because it does happen. There really are men out there that are morons. The only objection I have to it is its alleged frequency: Feminists imply that it happens all the time, and is pretty much a daily occurrence everywhere. I would contend that while it does indeed happen, it's much, much rarer than the feminists are implying.
Anyway, while the term itself may have a reasonable basis in reality, the major problem is that feminists themselves don't actually know that meaning, and are using it (like they always do with basically any term used to criticize men) as a generic insult.
They will use the term, as an accusation, if a man simply disagrees with a woman on something, even though the meaning of the term has absolutely nothing to do with disagreements or arguments. If a man presents a differing opinion, or a counterpoint, or a refutation, or in any other way does not fully agree with a woman, that's somehow "mansplaining".
In fact, if you ever encounter the term being used out there, chances are that it's not being used with its original meaning. Very good chances. In fact, I don't remember witnessing a single use (eg. in a blog post, or a YouTube video, or any sort of televised event) of the term that was accurate. It's always used to just try to dismiss what a man is saying, without actually refuting his arguments.
Ironically, that in itself could be called "feminisplaining": Feminists throwing insults in a patronizing manner at men who simply disagree with them, dismissing the argument without actually addressing or refuting it.
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