What's the funniest experience of mansplaining you have experienced

[bjjgirl]

Please to help me keep my sanity and give me some light relief can you tell me the best examples of mansplaining you have experienced?

I have had a long day of this at work and it's just exhausting

I once had the game Freecell (solitaire game) mansplained to me. Towards the end of the explanation I asked him what his percentage solved rate was (the version that we had a work kept score), he said that nobody really got over 50% but he was nearly at 60%. I showed him my solved percentage (I can't remember exactly but it was around 93% because I would replay the same game until I managed to get it right). Conversation ended.

@KatharinaRosalie

not mansplaining but the 'Oh you need a man to lift it!' happens to me all the time. Yes, on average, the male sex is stronger than female one. But if I tell you that thanks, I can manage - why do you keep insisting I can't?? Because I'm just a silly woman who doesn't understand a heavy item is heavy?

I've got to be honest and say that when a man appears and suggests that I let him shift something heavy, I have great pleasure in accepting, and will stand back and watch while he huffs and puffs all over the place.

Rather him than me.

Methusulahere - thank you, I feel totally vindicated!

My car broke down and the breakdown guy insisted it was out of petrol. I explained no it wasn’t, it had been filled up a couple of days before and had barely been used since. Guy continued to insist it was out of petrol for some time until he eventually found the actual problem.

I know I’m just a woman and can’t possibly understand the complexities of how a car works, but I do understand the role that fuel plays!

@hopelessatthinkingupusernames

My car broke down and the breakdown guy insisted it was out of petrol. I explained no it wasn’t, it had been filled up a couple of days before and had barely been used since. Guy continued to insist it was out of petrol for some time until he eventually found the actual problem.

I know I’m just a woman and can’t possibly understand the complexities of how a car works, but I do understand the role that fuel plays!

Same thing happened to me. I'd had the car serviced the day before, and when I was driving home from work the car broke down. The Green Flag man arrived and was totally scathing - you must have run out of fuel etc. No I said, I'd filled up earlier, and turned the ignition on so he could read the display. Oh well you must have put diesel in it by mistake then. Er no - I'm not a blithering idiot and here's the receipt to prove it says unleaded.

Anyway, he had to eat his words when he found out that the oil drain plug hadn't been tightened properly by the mechanic the previous day, all the oil had drained out and the engine had seized up.

Re the heavy lifting, I don’t mind a man offering to help and make use of his extra strength if it really does help me, I appreciate that. But I’m tall and strong, so what’s sometimes happened is that a smaller man tries to take my heavy bags, IKEA flat pack or whatever off me and then can’t carry it, so has to give it back!

I kind of feel a bit sorry for men in that situation because there is social pressure on them to step in, and to be strong as well. They look bad not helping a woman too.

How can you even run out of fuel without noticing? I mean, I have - but only because I was lazy to fill up and thought I could stretch it to the next gas station. But there are indicators and warning lights, so it's not exactly a mystery not available to female brain how much gas you have.

The only time I ever ran out of fuel was when I had a faulty fuel gauge. Now I have a car that tells me on screen and via my phone every little thing it’s doing. Modern technology.

@MsAdoraBelleDearheartVonLipwig

The only time I ever ran out of fuel was when I had a faulty fuel gauge. Now I have a car that tells me on screen and via my phone every little thing it’s doing. Modern technology.

When I was a poor college student with a Saturday job, my parents paid for my petrol. I arrived at work and completely panicked because my fuel gauge read empty but I knew it should have been on about 1/2 - 3/4 full. Rang my dad, who came and told me off for my fuel consumption but went and filled up for me. Much confusion when he couldn’t put very much in. The gauge had broken and showed permanently empty. No electronic gauge either. Trying to guess when the tank was nearing empty was fun.

I was once told by a plasterer “it’s ok, you’re only a girl. The plaster is fine, you are looking at it in the wrong type of lighting. It’s the lighting that’s wrong not the plaster!”
I turned to the chap - who was entrusted with plastering our entire house and asked him who exactly told him that? Because I certainly didn’t remember teaching that part of the course when I taught him 5 years previous!! Cheeky bastard actually had the gall to try and tell me there’s no way he was “taught by a little girl”. I pulled up his certification on my computer. Sure enough my name was there signing it off!

Okay so I am quite highly qualified and have a lot of experience in 1 field. I work with people who are more generally qualified, but I am a specialist in my field. Someone at work made a very basic, but relatively serious mistake. Something that is literally 101 in our job and should never happen. I spent quite a lot of time sorting out the mistake.

I had finished dealing with the case and was talking to my senior about it when colleague b walks in, colleague b is more generally qualified but doesn't have the experience in my field. We were in a private room with the door closed. He shouldn't have walked in without knocking but he did. He insisted on being part of the discussion. So I explained it to him

He then very patronisingly started asking, okay let's take it step by step, let's talk this through. Well no its already sorted and I was talking to an appropriate senior, I don't need your help. He then started telling me I was wrong, and the mistake couldn't possibly have happened. Had I done x, y, z. Which I of course had because again its 101 in my job which I've done for years and have way more experience in than colleague b.

He then started explaining to me how the original case should have happened. Very slowly, step by step. Yes I know mate, as I said its 101 and I've been doing it for years. I know exactly what should have happened, the problem is it didn't!

No, I must be wrong. I must be misinterpreting (which is basic and hard to misinterpret). Lets have a look. Ah look, just here there's a mistake! Yes I know, I spotted it and have been dealing with it.

Who made the mistake? You, colleague B, it was you. Anyway he fucked off after that. Not how the situation should have been handled at all, but he forced my hand.

@ToffeePennie that’s one of the best examples ever!

What a satisfying reply you were able to give.

Another one actually at DPs works do. Dp works in a male dominated field that is not related to mine at all. Something in my field of work came up in conversation

Someone asked 'ah, I wonder if x happens in this field of work'. No, its a bit more complex that x I said. Before I could finish they all started figuring out if x happened. Spent about half an hour talking about if x could happen, the science behind it. How you might go about investigating x. How they might solve the problem of x. All while I was sat there wanting to punch them all.

They then all patted themselves on the back when they'd come up with a solution to x, which doesn't happen in the first place because surprisingly someone had already thought of x 100s of years ago.

@ToffeePennie this is brilliant! Not only shoddy work but a memory like a sieve.

That was satisfying to read.

Another car one

I was in the dealership doing the paperwork for my new car. The salesman walked through all the add ons (not quoting any prices) and to each one I replied 'no thank you I don’t want it

Looking over the invoice for the last time I noticed he'd added all the extras on at a cost of more than a grand

When I complained he looked me straight in the eye and told me I was wrong and that I’d told him I wanted them all.

He then went on to say car buying was a complicated business and I really should have brought my husband with me. This is after him doing all the paperwork as Miss

Goes without saying I left not signing anything

@ToffeePennie
That’s excellent!

My bil said something about urinals, followed by "that's where men can go for a wee rather than in a toilet " 🤣

I sometimes think poshsplaining is almost as much of a thing as mansplaining: eg. The privately educated, female RP speaker who told me to say rooves instead of roofs. She also once pointed to a tree and said you know you can eat those. I said yes, they’re cherries.
Another high-caste female insisted I couldn’t possibly have grown a squash called buttercup: it must have been butternut. (It was called Buttercup Burgess in case anyone still doubts me).

An old git at work said it’s important to always have a shovel in your car. I said I dunno why at this time of year unless you need to relieve yourself by the side of the road. He explained that that was very easy for a man, anyway. I said not if you need a shovel.
It was the same old git who said barbecue came from the French for beard to tail, and that names beginning Fitz had always originated from being bestowed on illegitimate offspring. I could go on but they’re not that funny.

I hope this hasn't already been done but my most EPIC example was when a man tried to tell Dr. Jen Gunter, a gynecologist and world-class expert who had JUST brought out a book called, 'Me and My Vagina', that her terminology was wrong. 'It's not a vulva it's a vagina,' he said.

twitter.com/DrJenGunter/status/1100964461303619586

@Sleeperagent

Too many... A friend who is a serial mansplainer once told me he was buying a rocking chair and went on to explain that it's a chair that rocks back and forth. He even demonstrated the rocking motions with his arms. Recently I was in a city planning meeting on zoom, I was the only female. I made a good suggestion. As soon as I'd finished a man went on to explain in great detail exactly what I meant. I didn't even know him. What made it worse was at the end the chairMAN said what a good point the man had made and all the other participants agreed. It was my idea!

Rocking chair really made me PMSL 🤣 thanks

@Slumcat

Reading some of the responses on here I guess the problems stem from people thinking you are in a world you don't belong like women in car dealerships, diy shops or dealing with something technical but hand on, which then says an awful lot about the outdated views of the person I'm question.

Yeah we know.

😂😂😂😂

@SilverGoblin

This is over twenty years ago.

My brother.

Sunny Saturday evening down the pub with a bunch of family and friends.

DH had bought me a present while we were out shopping together in a mall that afternoon.

It was a pair of Rayban sunglasses. Not the often copied famous shape but still Rayban. Purchased from a shop that only sold sunglasses, can't remember the name but I know it was a national chain store.

There was a certificate in the box. That, cleaning cloth, pouch and the specs themselves emblazoned with "Rayban".

They were £80. They were £90 in Vision Express in the same mall so chose the other shop to save a tenner.

Back to the pub and I am wearing my nice new shades, feeling like a million dollars because I look good tooo...night.

Brother asks where I got the glasses from so I told him. He takes them off me and examines them, looking at the etching in the glass, feeling the raised logo on the arms.

"Oh, no", he says, "don't be stupid. You got conned. You see, you wouldn't get Raybans for £80. Tom Cruise wears Raybans so they are very very very expensive".

"I got them from an official source", I say.

"No you fucking didn't. It's impossible", he comes back.

He said this in front of loads of family members and they all laughed at me for "being conned".

Like his fucking broka arse would now. He had never even set foot in a shopping mall. Never owned sunglasses ever but he knew best cos he possessed a dick. It was a lifelong dole dossing, Del Boy wanna be, dick but it was definitely the source of much wisdom.

I loved him lots but damn could be such a fucking wanker at times.

That sounds very irritating. And also wrong, Raybans aren't that expensive compared to a lot of other brands. £80-130 is pretty average for Rayban prices. I'm guessing this was before you could just Google and show him

@Chocolatier9 as a fellow English Lit graduate I know all too well how people suddenly assume you know every novel in the entire world down to its fibre. And, they think that the degree is just reading and then explaining the plot 😂

@Kitkat214

So my question is what’s the difference between mansplaining and the behaviour of my mother in law who feels need to explain how everyone should do their everyday tasks they know how to do? I remember the plumber once walking out cos she pissed him off! Lol

@Kitkat214 Is your mother-in-law 160 years old by any chance? She sounds rather like this description in Period Piece by Gwen Raverat: “Ladies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told other people what to do and how to do it. My mother would have told anybody how to do anything: the cook how to skin a rabbit, or the groom how to harness a horse; though of course she had never done, or even observed these operations herself. She would cheerfully have told an engine-driver how to drive his engine, and he would have taken it quite naturally, and have answered: ‘Yes, ma’am’”