Mansplaining

Mansplaining (a blend word of man and the informal form splaining of the gerund explaining) is a neologism describing the act of a man explaining something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner, without regard to her own expertise. Traditionally, mansplaining differs from other forms of condescension in that it was said to be rooted in the assumption that a man is likely to be more knowledgeable than a woman. However, it has come to be used more broadly, often applied when a man takes a condescending tone in an explanation to anyone, regardless of the age or gender of the intended recipients: a "man 'splaining" can be delivered to any audience. In 2013, Dictionary.com said it was adding both mansplain and the suffix (libfix) -splain to its dictionary. Its announcement read in part: "In addition to being creative, this term, particularly the -splaining part, has proven to be incredibly robust and useful as a combining form in 2013." Mansplaining has also engendered parallel constructions such as womansplaining, whitesplaining, rightsplaining, and goysplaining. As the word became more popular, several commentators complained that misappropriation had diluted its original meaning. Joshua Sealy-Harrington and Tom McLaughlin wrote in the newspaper The Globe and Mail that the term has been used as an ad hominem to silence debate. Some critics of the term consider it pejorative. Research at Tilburg University on mansplaining refuted the simplistic idea of a man-explains-to-a-woman. The study indicate that men do not overestimate their knowledge more than women, women are quicker to interpret explanations as condescending, and that the gender of the 'explainer' does not matter. The study concludes that, although a man may have a genuine intention to help, interpretation bias on the part of the recipient can cause this to be perceived...