What does a spork, smog, Bennifer, a skort and mansplaining all have in common? They are all portmanteaus!
All of these words combine two separate words to create a new specific word and/or concept. Spork = spoon and fork.Smog= smoke and fog. Bennifer = Ben and Jennifer. Skort = skirt and shorts. Mansplaining = Men explaining things to you so you understand, dearie. Let's unpack that last portmanteau a little closer.
From Wikipedia, mansplaining is the act of explaining something to another person in an exceptionally condescending manner, typically from a man to a woman.
Now many of you may be thinking, "this isn't really a thing, is it? It's just crap the feminists make up."
Trust me, it's a thing.
When you find yourself in a situation where you have been talked at for a long time and having an abrasive loudmouth "explain" your job, your interests or your life to you, you've just experienced the wonder of mansplaining.
In my own life, I have experienced this phenomenon a handful of times and each time I walk away from that situation, annoyed, I realize that I've just been mansplained to.
It's subtle and unless you are on the lookout for it, you may not know that it's happened.
As an example, when my husband and I were getting ready to buy our first condo, we were doing what you were supposed to do and shop around for a better mortgage rate. When confronted by things that I do not understand, I do what I always do, I read about a hundred books and articles on the subject.
That being said, it was our first mortgage and we wanted to be prepared so I read up on amortization rates, the types of mortgages available and I researched current and past primes and asked friends and family what a "good" mortgage rate was.
I felt like I was moderately knowledgeable and prepared to grill the banks and brokers on the best rate and type they could give us.My husband and I were reasonably certain what type of payment we could handle and we didn't want to be upsold on unnecessary banking items or getting in over our heads.
In one mortgage broker's office, this giant old man with a twinkle in his eye proceeded to talk to my husband about all of the different mortgage options for us.It took me a few minutes to realize that he did not look at me even one time.When I would ask questions, he'd smile and chuckle and says things like, "you might be more comfortable with this option, little lady."
Needless to say, mansplainer mortgage broker did not get our business.
I've been at parties in my youth with the university hipster crowd (in my defense, I didn't know they were hipsters at the time), who liked to drink espresso and have breakfast potlucks (I brought Fig Newtons that no one but myself ate).
Men at these parties would ask me what my major was and when I told them it was English, they would proceed to tell me about all of the "really great novels" that I should read.
If I had read them, my own reading of these books would be somehow incomplete if I didn't read them the "right way." I stopped going to those parties because the sheer volume of competing games of "I'm so awesome!" became too much to bear.
I am a smart and capable women.Other women are smart and capable. Sometimes, women work in subordinate roles in their jobs.Sometimes, women have the flashy titles in their jobs but, not always.
Capable women who have a good understanding of their job and "how the job works" get to spend a lot of time listening to men who make more money than they do mansplain their job or expertise to them.
Really?
I've been doing this job for twice as long as you?
Thanks so much for mansplaining to me about "what works best."
I had no idea.
So if you are unsure if you are about to mansplain to someone, ask yourself one thing: did the person who I am talking to ask for my advice or ask me a question?
If so, carry on. If not, maybe don't try to teach the woman about baseball.
Chances are, she already knows the rules of the game.
