The word “mansplain” can been traced to Rebecca Solnit, a writer whose 2008 essay “Men Explain Things to Me” laid out the mansplaining fundamentals (though the actual term only began croppping up on feminist blogs months later). In its early incarnation, it had a straightforward definition: when a man condescendingly lectures a woman on the basics of a topic about which he knows very little, under the mistaken assumption that she knows even less. In the piece, Solnit describes attending a party at which an oblivious male, “eyes fixed on the fuzzy far horizon of his own authority,” patronizingly attempts to tell her all about a new book on the photographer Eadweard Muybridge, which it turns out Solnit actually wrote. This all-too-typical experience of being unthinkingly talked down to, she writes, “trains women in self-doubt and self-limitation just as it exercises men’s unsupported overconfidence.”
by LemonyElmony August 24, 2017
by Tenen January 06, 2022
To ask someone of the opposite sex to explain something to you thoroughly and as though you understand nothing relating to the subject. Typically used when someone believes their lack of understanding to be caused by a gender barrier.
Man: *Sees period cup*
Man: Can you mansplain/womansplain what this is to me?
Woman: It's a rubber cup people put up their vag in place of a tampon or pad during their period. It collects the blood, then you can dispose of the blood and clean the cup to reuse it.
Man: Can you mansplain/womansplain what this is to me?
Woman: It's a rubber cup people put up their vag in place of a tampon or pad during their period. It collects the blood, then you can dispose of the blood and clean the cup to reuse it.
by Iris Walton November 24, 2022
the explanation of something by a man, to another man who they perceive as their inferior, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.
by Fz9g3z September 10, 2019
When a man responds to accusations of mansplaining with the claim that "mansplaining is anyone disagreeing with you."
by SerenaBlackCat February 13, 2017
To no fault of either gender, the entire concept is simply a misunderstanding of men, most likely due to the accommodation for sensitivity being a relatively subconscious act on the part of women (reducing in-group conflict), something otherwise subverted among males through mutual mockery, etc.
As males tend to be more "aggressive", including how they cope with their ego's, a social divide in speech among men and women becomes apparent, such as women often reading between the lines, unlike men.
When an individual of "male stature" (not specific to a gender) speaks casually in a "masculine" manner; making no attempt to be sensitive, comforting or discreet (typical of the male psyche). Women may confuse this apathy with a sinister driven insult, when in fact the identified "insult" was void of intent & a result of unresolved insecurity among the recipient.
>Fallacious use of the term;
The word "mansplain" is now recently used to insult any male perspective that doesn't agree with ones agenda or deflect attention from ones failure to provide counterargument against a figure or argument deemed male/patriarchal
As males tend to be more "aggressive", including how they cope with their ego's, a social divide in speech among men and women becomes apparent, such as women often reading between the lines, unlike men.
When an individual of "male stature" (not specific to a gender) speaks casually in a "masculine" manner; making no attempt to be sensitive, comforting or discreet (typical of the male psyche). Women may confuse this apathy with a sinister driven insult, when in fact the identified "insult" was void of intent & a result of unresolved insecurity among the recipient.
>Fallacious use of the term;
The word "mansplain" is now recently used to insult any male perspective that doesn't agree with ones agenda or deflect attention from ones failure to provide counterargument against a figure or argument deemed male/patriarchal
mansplaining: "hey don't forget my potatoes, they need to be fresh"(could be received as a condescending remark to a female as an attempt to imply poor memory and lack of common sense, rather than the simple request it is)
womensplaining: "just as long as we have some fresh potatoes"(the same concept but less confrontational and more of an insinuation than a request)
>Fallacious use of the term;
Anonymous John Doe: "if you're really a feminist you'd be trying to help real oppressed women in 3rd world countries"
triggered snowflake: "You pathetic shitlord, i don't have time for your mansplaining!" *exists abruptly* &/or *blocks user*
womensplaining: "just as long as we have some fresh potatoes"(the same concept but less confrontational and more of an insinuation than a request)
>Fallacious use of the term;
Anonymous John Doe: "if you're really a feminist you'd be trying to help real oppressed women in 3rd world countries"
triggered snowflake: "You pathetic shitlord, i don't have time for your mansplaining!" *exists abruptly* &/or *blocks user*
by mechanikilla November 27, 2016
To explain (something) condescendingly (to a female listener), especially to explain something the listener already knows, presuming that she has an inferior understanding of it merely because she is female.
Female gardener: I like to grow lettuce
Guy: You probably didn't know this but lettuce and cabbage are actually 2 different things
Female gardener: Why would you mansplain this to me, a gardener.
Guy: You probably didn't know this but lettuce and cabbage are actually 2 different things
Female gardener: Why would you mansplain this to me, a gardener.
by Fredman14 June 30, 2017