#this is about the squid/cuddlefish post on my dash rn | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

catcatb0y · 2 years ago

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We need a term for "stupidly explaining something to someone who knows better" that isn't "mansplaining." Mansplaining is a very specific sort of act (from cis, typically straight) guys who have an abundance of hubris and a gloated sense of self importance.

Sometimes someone going, "You're wrong about that," isn't "mansplaining" so much as it's general confusion.

Mansplaining is a genuine issue and the term is an important one- it conveys a specific layer of misogyny and fulfils a niche of obnoxiousness and self importance (at the expense of someone else)- but 'person (masculine, male, or unidentified on the internet) is wrong about something (with any sort of slight confidence)' is not mansplaining.

It just kind of waters down the meaning to something silly and childish or adds a layer of heaviness/predjuice that isn't always there.

#this is about the squid/cuddlefish post on my dash rn #which is cool I want to reblog #and I also want to pettily make fun of the person making the same mistake twice #BUT #they're not 'mansplaining'#especially not when the op noted that the squid DOES look like a cuttlefish but it lacks the specific bone that all cuttlefish have #'but that is a cuttlefish' isn't mansplaining- it's an assessment that happens to be untrue #what they mean is 'but that LOOKS like a cuttlefish'#they are correct! it does LOOK like a cuttlefish #but they are incorrect- it's not ACTUALLY a cuddlefish #it's arrogant to assume you know better than a professional- especially when you have /actually seen/ that it's written by a professional #but it's also human nature to make mistakes or assume your knowledge is more encompassing than it actually is #'you call yourself a scientist? that's literally a cuttlefish not a squid' < the arrogance 'mansplaining' requires #assuming that you AUTOMATICALLY know better and are CONFIDENT in your assessment (often because the recipient is femme)#'I hate to say it but that's a cuttlefish' < sweet summer child you are making a reasonable assessment but you are wrong #mansplaining includeds EXPLAINING #man-explaning. mansplaining.

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