I am going to start this with a joke because the rest of this article is not going to be very laughable. This is a joke that I had heard before but was reminded of while perusing this thread of truly infuriating accounts of women being mansplained to by men. The joke goes like this:
Where does a man get his water?
From a well, actually.
It is a pretty funny joke. You laugh at it because it is true. When you think about how prevalent mansplaining is and the meaning of it — man's refusal to see women as fully-formed human beings with the ability to have vast and deep wells of their own knowledge — it is intensely infuriating.
Even "woke" men, and guys who would consider themselves allies and feminists have mansplained before. The idea that a woman could not possibly know as much as a man or the idea that even if she does, she will appreciate hearing a man blabber on because they deserve to be heard, is so pervasive in our world. These instances of women being mansplained to will and should make you angry. Hopefully, they'll make men a little more aware of their actions and women feel a little less insane and alone.
Tracy Ann Clayton, a writer and podcast host, posed this question to her Twitter followers:
women, what's the most infuriating thing you've had mansplained to you?— Brokey S. Pumpkins (@Brokey S. Pumpkins)1490100999.0
Her own address
@brokeymcpoverty Today the restaurant delivery guy asked me if I actually knew where I lived b/c he was lost . . . I think I win this one 😒— 🆘 🏴🚩Kate 🌎🌍🌏 (@🆘 🏴🚩Kate 🌎🌍🌏)1490163471.0
How car engines work
It is so infuriating when men cannot fathom that a woman would know anything about cars or sports or subjects that are traditionally seen as "male."Linguistics
This woman has had linguistics explained to her. From her Twitter bio, it is clear that she is an expert in linguistics. A doctor of it, even. The women buying makeup being responsible for poverty thing is so crazy I can't even address it.The artist's intent
@brokeymcpoverty The artist's intent Exhibition opening I was the artist— Bed burrito (@Bed burrito)1490160805.0
Taking a phone message
@brokeymcpoverty a boss mansplained taking a phone message "just answer it, see who it is, write it down, tell them I'll call them back"— 🕸spooky BOOschoff🕸 (@🕸spooky BOOschoff🕸)1490196515.0
Math
.@brokeymcpoverty had a journalism student take over my lecture to explain to the class why the math I was doing was wrong. He was wrong.— Jessica Huseman (@Jessica Huseman)1490189099.0
Wearing maxi pads
How a maxipad should be worn. So you ladies know: the proper way, as was mansplained to me, is sticky side to the curlies @brokeymcpoverty— Turing Pest (@Turing Pest)1490166061.0
How pedophiles are actually fine
This is one of those situations where you back slowly away as the guy is talking and go report everything he's saying to the police. Holy cow.Moving a phone
.@brokeymcpoverty Recently? Office dude came in to move my phone, mocking me bc he thought I didn't know how. I said the cable's too short..— m.e.h. #MaskUp (@m.e.h. #MaskUp)1490105305.0
How no women wrote in the Middle Ages
@brokeymcpoverty men regularly try to explain that there weren't women writing in the Middle Ages (I have a PhD in medieval women's writing)— Kathryn Maude (@Kathryn Maude)1490104991.0
Her own name
@brokeymcpoverty I once had a friend mansplain to my roommate how to ~correctly~ pronounce her own name bc he thought she was doing it wrong— Aja Romano (@Aja Romano)1490117092.0
Indiana Jones
@knottyyarn @brokeymcpoverty Also had a man mainsplain Indiana Jones while I was wearing an Indiana Jones shirt.— rachel leishman (@rachel leishman)1490122180.0
That they weren't on "real Jeopardy!"
@CopyrightLibn @brokeymcpoverty a dude told me after hearing abt my Jeopardy! shows that I must have been on teen/kids J!, not "real J!".— Alysha Rooks (@Alysha Rooks)1490114319.0
Menstruation
I want to bury my head in the sand. This is presumably an adult man who thinks that every woman gets her period on the same exact day of every month. What.Bike locks
Why would anyone not know what a bike lock is for? It's right there in the name. This is truly a guy who just likes to hear himself talk.Supply and demand
@brokeymcpoverty I've had men try to explain supply and demand to me. I have a Masters in economics.— Julie Fauble (@Julie Fauble)1490144963.0
How to fix computers
@brokeymcpoverty want to pick one specific but am just going to say "men who come to the Genius Bar for me to fix their computers"— the voting ghost of wade boggs (@the voting ghost of wade boggs)1490256395.0
Daily routine
@brokeymcpoverty my son mansplaining how hard it is to cook, clean, shop, go to school, wash, work p/t when I left him home alone for a week— TheMarketingGurl (@TheMarketingGurl)1490182967.0
How to feel
.@brokeymcpoverty a guy showed me a list of 10 common pet names for women then mansplained to me how I should feel when I'm called them.— josie (@josie)1490264926.0
Speaking French
@brokeymcpoverty How to properly say "you're welcome" in French. He is not French. But I am— sc71 (@sc71)1490161316.0
When babies are coming
@brokeymcpoverty Obstetrician disagreed that my baby was about to come. Mansplained & left for soda. 3 mins later: Baby born, no doc in room— Amy Cassidy Duncan (@Amy Cassidy Duncan)1490110027.0
Selective breeding
@GrettaLouw @brokeymcpoverty Similar, I had a dude tryna mansplain selective breeding to me AFTER I told him I'd developed a new breed of 🐰— April Spectrum (@April Spectrum)1490183324.0
Brazil's economy
@brokeymcpoverty A US man w/ no connection to Brazil tried to explain Brazil's economy to me after I'd covered it for years from Sao Paulo— Luciana Lopez (@Luciana Lopez)1490195992.0
Why breastfeeding in public is unacceptable
@brokeymcpoverty @calamityjane65 Why breastfeeding is unacceptable in public.— Kate, I Cover The FenwayFront 🗽 (@Kate, I Cover The FenwayFront 🗽)1490162322.0
Female orgasms
I guarantee you this man has never been around a woman while she was orgasming. So sure about that.Her own tattoos
Yeah, that's going to be a hard pass from me. Don't do that, men. Or anything like it.That she was bench pressing too much
@brokeymcpoverty @WomanthologyUK Bloke in gym told me I was spending too much time benchpressing. I'm world champio… https://t.co/17kuanK1M4— Manon Bradley (@Manon Bradley)1490168450.0
Search ranking
@brokeymcpoverty a man once explained to me how search ranking works, in response to my stating I worked on search ranking at Yahoo Research— Dr. Murdoctor (@Dr. Murdoctor)1490199663.0