Speaking as a man....

[LumpyMcBentface]

'Man here'

'Male opinion'

Please just stop it. Unless your post has something to do with your genitals (in which case probably don't post it) it has no relevance to what you are about to say.

We won't all stop, draw breath, and think 'finally! A man's opinion. We can all stop debating now'.

It just makes you look like a pompous mansplaining tosser.

Pretty much what Worra said.

Most of the time the gender of the contributor has zero relevance to the subject to hand but I have read some laughably absurd generalisations about supposed inherent male behaviours on here and it is not surprising that the odd bloke might wade to say "as a man" you are talking bollocks.

When I ask DH, it's more 'I have asked the other adult in the house' than 'I have asked the MAN', I have to say. If my mum was here I'd add her opinion too (although I'd need a Ouija board these days).

Speaking as a human being, I agree

It's redundant or arrogant, that's why it's annoying.

'Speaking as a man, I can tell you I find parenting very emotional.'

• Bollocks, you're one man, you have no idea how representative (or otherwise) you are, and you just sound arrogant pretending to know.

'Speaking as a man, I can tell you what it feels like to have scrotum-itch.'

Well, you know, what with the scrotum, I had figured out you were a man already.

The thing is, if I was posting on a predominantly male forum, I would probably say "Well speaking as a woman" now and then, if I thought it was relevant.

If one of those men started a thread saying...

Please just stop it. Unless your post has something to do with your genitals (in which case probably don't post it) it has no relevance to what you are about to say.

We won't all stop, draw breath, and think 'finally! A woman's opinion. We can all stop debating now'.

It just makes you look like a pompous womansplaining tosser.

I'd most definitely tell him to get to fuck, to be fair. After pointing out that he doesn't own the website, or get to make the rules.

0pti0na1

Stop 'humansplaining'

Most women on mumsnet live with a man who is far more easily accessible for opinions that their best friend or their husband COULD be their best friend too i.e. the first person they could ask for their opinion. Most of the time there is a context.

Looking for reasons to be insulted OP? You remind me of posters who accuse other posters of bragging when very clearly they have been ASKED a specific question and simply answer on the specific context.

Well, speaking as a woman...... I haven't read the thread. I hope I'm the first. Probably not, but I hope...

I have also seen 'speaking as a feminist' or 'as a mother' etc. It's not just the men who do it.

Anyone who does that is a twat and I see it on here from women far more than men (yes I know there are more women on here) and it comes across as just as patronising.

It's on the same level as people who do the all inclusive 'us (sic) mums'. It is like they are addressing a room full of people.

There's even been a few "Well DS says...", I don't care what your DS says, I'm talking to you, not him.

There's also still the glut of husband-worshippers, who cannot post without referencing their husband's job or other type of supposed wonderfulness which we are all meant to be awed by.

This bores me. If I ever chip in with 'DP says..' I mean 'the adult sitting next to me also thinks...' and not 'ooh a big clever man has spoken'.

If anyone asks for an electrician hubby I will stick my neck out and give that one a pass. I've never met or heard of a registered electrician who is female, though of course now I've said that a flood of them will appear.

I'm a massive feminist but I don't love 'mansplaining' any more than I love 'nagging'. Both are just mainly meaningless words to describe the opposite sex in the act of talking.

My sex isn't obvious from my username so I do sometimes point it out, there was a thread the other day about a mum wishing they'd had a C-section for their DC's so their vagina would remain pristine...

I gave my opinion and stated my "man credentials" as i felt it was relevant. I don't wade into parking threads, state my sex and opinion, then bugger off as though it is the last word LMAO...

YES

I love it when men open a post with "speaking as a man", expecting all us mums to sit up and really pay attention.

I will never forget the man who posted in the feminism topic along the lines of: "Here I am, a MAN, come to offer a different perspective on this topic, so come along ladies and ask me anything..."

Oh, the pasting he got.

But seriously, so many men seem to do this. Even my seemingly normal DH the other day told me I was probably mistaken when I said that many men do that thing of just forging ahead towards you on the street, confident that you as mere woman will make way for his superior manliness. I was trying to explain an example of ingrained male entitlement, which he remains skeptical about.

So I said oh yes, DH, you have never experienced this, so it MUST not exist, which made him think a bit. I do find it frustrating. This is a highly-educated, enlightened man and he can't really see it. (To be fair, he doesn't do it himself, thus finds it hard to believe other men do).

It's Speak As A Man Day!

I don't have an issue with it personally.

OP Does it trouble you that my username accurately states my gender?

In fairness I think there are times it's interesting and relevant to hear a man's opinion. And there have been "my DH is a wanker and here's why" threads with people responding "well, that's men for you, what do you expect?" and then someone has posted along the lines of "speaking as a man, no that's not OK and yes he is a wanker". And I think that can be useful - there are a lot of posters with such low expectations of their male partners, just because they are male, that it's quite shocking (eg the various crap birthday presents threads) and there is value in hearing someone else's male partner saying no, that's not good enough.

Having seen people ripped to shreds because they didn't make it clear they were a male it seems a little damned if they do and damned if they don't.

If they're simply giving a factual point then I really don't see an issue.

Of course using it to close down any debate is massively inappropriate and should be pulled there and then

Andrew, what bothers me about your user name is that I still pronounce it in my head, as Andrew o fogg

There's no rule to say your username must be of the sex you are in real life though. It might, like yours Andrew, but I'd never assume someone's sex just from their username.

Well, 'speaking as a man here'... ;) I do this sometimes. Usually when it has relevance, though I usually only sign up on gender-neutral topics. I have to say, I sometimes tiptoe around on this board and I don't like to wade in on Relationship threads because it feels to me intrusive and yes, that is 'as a man'. On this forum it can often feel like I'm the guy poking his head round the door at a Mums' coffee morning, and they're going to wait until you leave to start talking normally again, it doesn't quite feel right to pull up a chair.

It certainly isn't meant to imply, wow, I'm here you can all stop and listen.

But for a bloke to join a discussion and somehow let it be inferred that he is a Mum and obv female, well that might seem a bit sly or weird.

Equally I hate it when a woman says something misogynistic and prefaces it with "And I'm a woman!"

I can't help but imagine her sitting up and panting like a well-behaved dog, looking around for a passing male to give her a pat on the head for being such a good girl

I read on here someone stating

"Aha! The testicles of objectivity have arrived"

It did make me laugh