Certified PGA pro and instructor Georgia Ball recently shared a video that has garnered more than 10 million views and over 26,000 comments. In the clip, Ball is practising her swing at a driving range near Liverpool when a man off-camera begins to explain to her how to perfect her technique. He suggests adjustments and critiques her swing, despite Ball’s explanation that she is intentionally trying out a new style of swing as part of a technique improvement process. The man insists that her swing is too slow on the way up, to which Ball politely tries to interject. She explains that she is aware of her form and is deliberately making adjustments. Despite her expertise and explanation, the man continues to offer unsolicited advice, citing his 20 years of golf experience. That’s mansplaining.
Men generally advise women regarding important and trivial matters. Whether you are a champion like Georgia Ball or a homemaker, most women have encountered instances of ‘mansplaining’ at some point in their lives.
Understanding the pattern
Let’s take a moment to analyse the scenario mentioned above. It is not an exaggeration or a social experiment but a real-life incident. It may seem like the man in the clip wants to offer assistance. The truth is that “just trying to help” often isn’t helpful for women.
Georgia Ball is a Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) professional with years of experience as both a player and an instructor. Yet, due to her gender, she still faces “mansplaining” about the sport from a man who is less capable than her. This incident is just one example of many where a man condescendingly explains to a woman despite her expertise in the subject matter.
Examples of mansplaining
Men often feel entitled to mansplaining. For example, driving. Many women have stopped driving because their husbands or fathers would continuously curb their driving style by giving instructions. Bollywood has two great examples of this. Amitabh Bachchan stops ‘Piku’ Deepika Padukone from driving a car on the highway, stating it is too risky. It is not just a fatherly concern, it is discrimination based on ‘Piku’s gender.
The movie ‘Queen’ has a poignant flashback when the heroine drives a car in Paris on unfamiliar roads as she has no other option. A flashback montage shows that the protagonist’s fiance kept criticising her when she was trying to learn to drive. This is quite usual. There are several jokes about women drivers that are available online. Even in 2024, men casually say that most women dont know how to park their cars properly.
Women’s health & mansplaining
There are instances when men feel entitled to even shed light on topics where they have little to no experience. These can be about hormones, periods, pregnancy, or breastfeeding, subjects that women are intimately familiar with. These men can be their partners or professionals who write off the knowledge and experience of women who are going through the process of birthing or menopause. In the process, there are serious consequences. The health of women gets compromised because the men downplay their problems.
Typical male domains
Politics, taxes, economy, and sports are common areas where women are usually talked down to. The problem is that men do it naturally, as they assume women to be in need of advice. Similarly, many women normalise mansplaining, believing it to be natural as such behaviour is deeply ingrained and seen everywhere- at work, at home, across generations and in popular content. It’s precisely for this reason that women must understand the concept of “mansplaining”. It is a common occurrence in which men talk down to women, often with a microaggressive and smug attitude.
The origins of mansplaining
The term “mansplaining” gained popularity after writer Rebecca Solnit published her book “Men Explain Things to Me: Facts Didn’t Get in Their Way.” Solnit didn’t explicitly use the term “mansplaining” in her book. She described its alarming and sexist nature, something familiar to many women. She recounted instances where men talked down to her, assuming they knew more about a topic despite her expertise. Solnit’s experiences resonated with many women who had encountered similar situations. It led to widespread recognition of this behaviour and the emergence of the term “mansplaining” as a buzzword.
The fine line between genuine explanation and mansplaining
At the very core of mansplaining is control, toxicity, conditioning and gender politics. The very premise is based on one gender assuming a superior role. It also has a lot of layers that make it disturbing. Infantalising women are the result of patriarchy. We see in popular literature and movies that men treat women like “little girls”, and in turn, women feel loved and protected. However, at the root of it is the belief that women are less capable.
Mansplaining is so normal as a behaviour that, at a subconscious level, women automatically leave a few areas to men to handle. Finance, technology, automobile and real estate purchases are typically men’s domains.
The issue with mansplaining isn’t merely a man explaining something to a woman. It’s when a man explains something to a woman, assuming she knows less than him, even if she’s more knowledgeable or experienced in that area. For example, if a woman asks a man for help with something she doesn’t understand, and he explains it, that’s not mansplaining. However, if a woman has education and experience in a field, and a man tries to explain something in that field to her based on his sense of assumed superiority, that’s definitely mansplaining.
Signs of mansplaining
As far as our observation goes, a telltale sign of mansplaining is when a man resorts to using unnecessarily complex language or concepts to confuse or overcomplicate matters. It is evident in offices. In common-place work situations, some men assume the role of a self-appointed representative and start explaining the nature or scope of the discussion to their female colleagues. Primarily, the negativity stems from the presumption that a woman is incapable of grasping something complex due to her gender, coupled with the unsolicited and unnecessary nature of the explanation.
Mansplaining at work
Most working women who have encountered “mansplaining” have noticed that their competence is questioned more often than that of their male colleagues. Imagine yourself working in a responsible role for years, and your work is trivialised due to your gender. Feeling constantly belittled, incompetent, or unappreciated definitely takes a toll on a woman’s confidence.
Many women think that this habit is natural to men and something to shrug off. Therefore, organisations should empower women to speak up when they experience such misogyny. If women keep ignoring these little annoyances, it sends a message that men can dominate women and their ideas. Such subtle but deeply ingrained practices not only belittle women but also weaken their dreams and goals.
The final thoughts
Mansplaining often occurs when men are convinced that women know less. That makes the men assume the role of the more knowledgeable person in the conversation. But such a practice allows a man to tamper with a woman’s boundaries.
Society teaches women to think before they speak. On the other hand, thousands of years of oppression and societal constructs make men feel that they are superior and can be vocal about everything. Therefore, it is essential to recognise when it happens. If a man tries to preach because you are a woman, that is a red flag. In an ideal world, every woman must know that “mansplaining” is not just any man explaining something. It is an act that is patronising and has an undertone of sexist attitudes.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content, which we define broadly to include media, policies, law, and history—encompassing all elements that influence the lives of women and gender-queer individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
