Mansplaining

Neil
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, I’m Neil and with me is Feifei.

Feifei Hello.

Neil Now Feifei, if you just put on your headphones you’ll be able to hear what I’m saying.

Feifei Yes, I know that.

Neil And you need to push that thing there - we call it a fader - we push that up and speak into the microphone.

Feifei Ah, yes Neil I already know that.

Neil You see, Feifei, you have to be careful not to be too close to the microphone when you speak, because the pressure of your breath will create this sound - we call that a ‘pop’ and the recording will sound bad and our listeners will complain.

Feifei Neil! I’ve been working in radio for over 10 years! I know how to use the studio! Stop mansplaining.

Neil Feifei, I was only doing it to introduce that word - mansplaining. It’s a new word. It’s made up of two parts - ‘man’ and ‘explaining’. Mansplaining is when a man explains something to a woman as if they are stupid or knows less about a subject simply because she is a woman.

Feifei
Here are some examples.

Examples So there was this guy mansplaining the offside rule to me. I’ve been playing football since I was 4 years old!

Man: Push your foot down a bit harder on the clutch before you try to change gear. It’ll make it much smoother. Woman: Quit the mansplaining. I’m a taxi driver, OK?

Feifei Mansplaining. A man’s explanation to a woman, which shows he thinks he knows more than her just because he’s a man.

Neil And did you know Feifei that it’s also a verb - to mansplain? Yes, language changes all the time, Feifei. New words come and old words change meaning. That’s something all language learners need to know…

Feifei
Neil! Stop! Mansplaining!

Both Bye!