Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Men Explain Things To Me summary
Rebecca Solnit
And Other Essays
3.8 (65 ratings)
12 mins
5 key ideas
Audio & text
What is Men Explain Things To Me about?
Men Explain Things To Me (2014) is a collection of essays that examine the range of misogyny in our culture, from everyday microaggressions to legal systems that fail to punish rape. Solnit explains how sexism perpetuates itself, and what we can all do to eliminate it.
About the Author
Rebecca Solnit is a writer, activist, historian, contributor to the Guardian and contributing editor at Harper’s. She’s written 16 books on subjects as wide-ranging as art, politics, the environment, memory and the history of walking.
Table of Contents
Men Explain Things To Me
summarized in 5 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 5
Men explain things to women because they think their knowledge and expertise is superior.
Have you ever found yourself listening to a man explain to you how things really are? If you’re a woman, you undoubtedly have.
Men often assume (perhaps unconsciously) that they’re more intelligent or knowledgeable than women, so they feel the need to teach them in a condescending or patronizing way. This is also known as mansplaining, a combination of “man” and “explaining.”
The New York Times dubbed “mansplaining” Word of the Year in 2010, and it had entered mainstream political journalism by 2012. The author didn’t invent the term, but she’s credited with popularizing it. She herself feels the word is a bit unclear, however, as it seems to imply that all men do this. Women do it too, though far less often.
Mansplaining occurs because of sexism and men’s arrogance regarding women’s knowledge, reliability and expertise.
Even an established writer like the author isn’t safe from this kind of subtle, everyday sexism. In fact, a man once interrupted her to tell her about a great book related to a subject they were discussing, implying he knew more about it than she did. As he kept talking, the author realized he was telling her about her own book.
More extreme manifestations of this phenomenon occur in other parts of the world. In some countries in the Middle East, a woman’s testimony of rape doesn’t have weight unless there was another man there to witness it. A woman’s word is considered less reliable than a man’s word.
Want to see all full key ideas from Men Explain Things To Me?
Key ideas in Men Explain Things To Me
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Best quote from Men Explain Things To Me
An exasperated women remarked to me, What do [men] want – a cookie for not hitting, raping, or threatening women?
—Rebecca Solnit
Who should read Men Explain Things To Me
- Women who are tired of men talking down to them
- Men who want to be allies in the fight against misogyny
- Anyone curious about feminism or how deep-rooted sexism is in our society
Categories with Men Explain Things To Me
Books like Men Explain Things To Me
What our members say
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Start growing with Blinkist now
25 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers