man talking to a woman
Image courtesy og en.wikipedia.org

The concept of ‘mansplaining’ – a man interrupting a woman to tell her what’s what – has become a hot-button issue of late. But actually it’s nothing new. A few facts about the phenomenon …

? “The Atlantic” has published “A Cultural History of Mansplaining” that traces the concept all the way back to a 1903 issue of its very own magazine. That cited article was titled “Why Women Do Not Wish the Suffrage.” Written by a man.
? Before the term was even coined, a study in 1984 discovered that female doctors are up to twice as likely to be cut off in conversations with their patients than male practitioners.
? The actual word ‘mansplaining’ is said to have made its first published appearance in a 2008 “Los Angeles Times” excerpt from Rebecca Solnit’s book entitled “Men Explain Things to Me”.
? A 2012 study shows that, in workplace environments where decisions are being made, women speak up to 75% less than men.
? In the media, men write 80% of tradition opinion pieces, and 67% of them online.
Last year, a Salon.com writer argued that the very term itself is “inflaming online gender wars instead of clarifying them.” This, of course, was written by a man. (So whatcha think? Is the act offensive or not? Is the word offensive or not?)
– Condensed from Upworthy.com