Q: Where does a mansplainer get his water?
A: From a well, actually.
I'm fairly certain that every woman knows what this is, and I'm almost equally sure that any man/guy would roll his eyes –but that's also just my own perspective. As a female within the technology industry, I am quite familiar with this concept.
If it isn't obvious, this is when a man explains something to a woman in a condescending way, as if it is necessary to speak carefully and with small words that "the little lady" can understand.
This happens to me almost daily, even with 20+ years into my career. It is alternately amusing or annoying. I'd like to say that I don't let men get away with it, but I do.
(Completely coincidentally, I shared an image and post on LinkedIn today illustrating such a scenario. It detailed a couple going to the service department for maintenance on an automobile while the service advisor spoke exclusively to the male of the two. As it turned out, the female was actually an engineer on an auto racing team, and the post ended with the sentence, "She is going to pick her moment." That is generally my approach to it.)
The comical/ironic aspect of this behavior is completely overlooked. If a female is successful –especially in a technical role (or even present, honestly) –she had to have worked harder, be better at the job, keep tight control of her emotions, juggle more responsibilities, know more, sacrifice pieces of herself, and have proven herself repeatedly to even get to the same level.
The idea that she has done so in order to earn the privilege of male condescension would be amusing if it were not such an illustration of utter delusion and lack of awareness on the counterpart.
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