How Mansplaining Harms Women in STEM
Written by: Alicen Ricard
How many women out there can relate to talking about something you’re an expert in and are interrupted by a man, who might not be an expert in the same topic, who then proceeds to explain what you’re talking about to you? This is mansplaining and . The concept isn’t new, even if the word has only been around for the past six years or so. Women being “mansplained” in their career fields has always been a problem, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or careers. In the podcast, one of the hosts who is a professional boxer says that men try to give her boxing advice all the time, some of it wrong, and that most of them don’t even box.
was first used to describe essay “”. In this essay she tells the story of a party she and a friend went to where the host cut her off while she was talking about her latest book to tell her about this “very important book” on the same topic that was just published. Turns out, not only was it her own book, he hadn’t even read it. When her essay was republished in 2012, the internet used the word “mansplaining” to describe what had happened to Rebecca and the . The word has even been added to the Merriam-Webster with the definition: "Mansplaining is, at its core, a very specific thing. It's what occurs when a man talks condescendingly to someone (especially a woman) about something he has incomplete knowledge of, with the mistaken assumption that he knows more about it than the person he's talking to does." The word may be new but the concept can be to an article from 1903 called “”.
The internet didn’t stop there, and last year a new phrase was born: . The phase was coined on Twitter by astronomer Nicole Gugliucci and her friends. She tweeted “My friends coined a word: hepeated. For when a woman suggests an idea and it's ignored, but then a guy says same thing and everyone loves it” and next thing you know, the tweet is going viral, and we have a new word to describe this behavior. Gugliucci goes on to explain that the term can be used for more than just gender; it can apply to any “minority”.
So we know that this all exists, but what is the impact on women in STEM careers? So much pressure is put on women in these fields that they feel like they need to be perfect, and if someone “mansplains” something to them, it just further fuels the feeling of not being good enough. With men outnumbering women in these fields, . Women often feel as if they have to downplay any feminine style they may have to be in their careers. The bias against women in STEM fields is one of the main things that from going into these careers in the first place, .
The Internet is a prime place to find examples of mansplaining everywhere. Twitter is especially bad at showing this type of sexism. When astrophysicist Katie Mack saying “Honestly climate change scares the heck out of me and it makes me so sad to see what we’re losing because of it.” it didn’t take long for people to start attacking her for it. One reply said “Maybe you should learn some actual SCIENCE then, and stop listening to the criminals pushing the #GlobalWarming SCAM!” Katie’s reply proved she wasn’t going to stand for any mansplaining. The scientist responded with, “I dunno, man, I already went and got a PhD in astrophysics. Seems like more than that would be overkill at this point.” Exchanges like this are hardly rare on twitter as shown by more examples .
How the term and concept of “mansplaining” has been received greatly varies. Some people embrace it and run with it. There are articles explaining how “not to mansplain” such as “” from Men’s Journal, “” from Men’s Health, and “” from The Tab. Others are adamant that we . It can and create double standards-- do it. A news blog from the UK argues that . Another article claims that men are . No matter your stance on whether mansplaining is a thing or not, and whether we should have a word for it, it is still a problem and a roadblock for women who are in STEM fields.
can cause women to be uncomfortable in their own careers and can keep women from entering STEM, or other male-dominated fields, in general. Our focus should be kept in retaining women in these fields and helping them to feel like they belong there. Maybe if people become more if they are mansplaining and stop it from happening, this task could be easier.