mansplaining

As I began reading Solnit’s article and saw where she was going with “men explain things to me” I first thought that this was something that I do to people quite often. It wasn’t until I had finished the article in its entirety that I grasped the condescending nature of “men explaining things”. I then was able to decipher the differences between what I tend to do, which Solnit would likely say is attempting to give my voice credibility and when things are told to me in a fashion that assumes I know nothing from the get go. My example is one that has to do with back seat driving. I drive a stick shift, because my parents insisted it was a necessary skill to have, which I hate to admit, they were correct.  I would say 80% of the time when someone corrects something I do, they in fact do not even know how to make my car start. One particular example was in the winter when I was still in high school, I was giving my friend a ride to school and he insisted that my car wasn’t safe in the snow because it was manual. I however knew this to be false because you can downshift in a manual, something you can’t do in an automatic. I attempted to explain this to my friend and got nowhere. His go to line was “prove me wrong” as if my knowledge of how my car worked wasn’t enough, I needed to back my facts with something more substantial. I have also noticed in my experience that my ability to drive something other than an automatic is no less than shocking to men my age. I enjoyed this article because it made me think about how I myself communicate with people and whether I am trying to condescend or give myself credibility.