How Do You Handle Mansplaining?
I just got severely mansplained. I am sorry to anyone that has to experience this level of misogyny on a regular basis. I’ve been mansplained before, but usually in a group setting. I was having one of those existential travel conversations with a fellow traveler and after she leaves, he proceeds to come up to me afterward. He said, “I couldn’t help but over here you talking about your profession, psychological safety, and positive psychology, and I just have to disagree.”
I was wondering the whole time, did I ask for your opinion? I was fascinated from a sociological perspective. How long will this guy go?
7 Minutes!
7 Minute TED Talk explaining how there are no victims in the world, power doesn’t exist, Ayn Rand is great, and slavery wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be.
Any time I tried to get a word in edgewise, he would hold that hand up to my face, like HOLD ON, as if he wasn’t finished with his point after 7 straight minutes of talking and acting as if I was committing a felonious crime by interrupting him.
There were so many words, I just started thinking about how I could end the conversation or if he was just a foot closer, I could possible get a quick kick to the face.
Finally, when he ran out of breath, I said. Look, there is a whole lot of toxic masculinity and mansplaining coming from your end. And then I gave him the hand. You’ve been speaking for 80% of the time, so here is what I have to say. The way you come off with all your mansplaining is so pretentious that anything you say just comes off as sheer bullshit.
His response. “Like I was saying.” And then he started his 2nd TED talk. He didn’t hear a word I said. He just needed to catch his breath. So, I just sat there, and in the end just said okay, I’ll consider it. And that quieted him so he could feel superior.
I am sorry for anyone that has to go through this on a regular basis. We need to put these narcissistic mansplainers in their place because their BS is wasting too much of our time and energy.
