The word ‘mansplaining’ was coined in response to Rebecca Solnit’s 2008 essay ‘Men Explain Things to Me’. It became a New York Times word of the year in 2010 and entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018. Versions exist in many languages, from French to Icelandic. The term often recalls the opening anecdote of Solnit’s essay, where a man explained a book to her without realising she was its author.
However, Solnit argues that the humorous side has overshadowed a more serious issue. The essay quickly moved from the amusing to the terrifying, recounting an incident where a man dismissed a neighbour’s fear of her husband as irrational, simply because of gender assumptions. Solnit stresses that mansplaining is part of a larger problem of ‘inequality of voice’ – who gets listened to and believed.
This inequality affects everyday life, from doctors dismissing women’s pain to neighbours disbelieving a woman’s fear of domestic violence. It can be a life-or-death issue. Solnit points to high-profile incidents such as the police murder of Tyre Nichols, where video contradicted official accounts. She notes that children, elderly people, immigrants, and people with disabilities are often treated as incompetent witnesses to their own lives.
Non-white people are frequently assumed to be less trustworthy or qualified. Studies show women and people of colour are ignored or disbelieved when reporting pain, impacting health outcomes. Even Serena Williams was initially dismissed when she reported a postpartum pulmonary embolism. Solnit warns against attempts to make the word gender-neutral, as that would render it meaningless. She argues that while other words exist for misplaced condescension, the specific term ‘mansplaining’ highlights a gendered pattern of silencing.
