The term ‘mansplaining’ has become a firmly entrenched part of the modern lexicon, with pretty much every woman having experienced it at some stage in her life. We can only hope that as it becomes less accepted and easier to recognize (this handy chart is helpful), guys will stop and think before assuming superior knowledge about something based purely on the genitals they possess.
Image credits: Bored Panda (not the actual photo)
Judging by this viral post, posted by Irish Twitter user @aisghair, there is still a long way to go. Not only was the tone condescending, but this guy assumed superior knowledge about something he’ll never experience, something that women live with for most of their lives.
There’s so much wrong with this, it’s hard to know even where to begin. The guy appears to have very little intimate knowledge of women, and the use of the words “an extra juicy uterine lining” suggests an unsubtle attempt at trolling to me. Surely nobody is this delusional? Lost for words, @aisghair presented the offending screenshot with a simple caption.
Image credits: aisghair
The tweet has since blown up, with thousands of people expressing their disbelief at the mansplainers’ lack of empathy, self-awareness and basic knowledge. 9 periods per year? What, do they pause for the holidays? And what about toxic shock syndrome? Those tampons need to be changed regularly if his hypothetical woman isn’t gonna end up dead. The basic spelling and grammar mistakes kinda give an insight into the intelligence of the man.
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People were quick to pour scorn on the mansplainer’s logic, giving him the dressing down he deserves. We can only hope that he sees this post and takes a few lessons from it. We aren’t holding our collective breath though… Speaking to Bored Panda, @aisghair hopes so too. “The response has been 99.9% positive from what I saw (though I muted the tweet after about 1000 likes), she explained. “I really hope they gain a bit of self-awareness from things like this!”
“I’ve noticed this phenomenon with people who have never experienced oppression (not just men – white people, straight people, cis people etc). They think that their lack of experience makes them more qualified to speak on certain issues because they see themselves as more logical and with no emotional attachment, when in truth their analysis lacks nuance. It’s something I’ve been guilty of myself and have had to unlearn. When people tell you about their lives and experiences, believe them.”
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Tampons and other sanitary protection products are currently classed as ‘luxury’, non-essential products in many countries, and attract an added tax that makes them even more costly. Many people argue against this, since menstruation is biological and feminine hygiene is not exactly a choice, is it? Because the vast majority of consumers of feminine hygiene products are women, the increased cost is seen as discriminatory against women. Canada scrapped taxes on feminine hygiene products back in 2015, after an online petition successfully lobbied for change. Many other governments are now feeling the pressure to follow suit, something which women across the world have been fighting for many years. What is the situation on feminine hygiene tax in your country? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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