Word used to designate the action and effect of a man explaining something in a paternalistic or condescending manner, flaunting his supposed intellectual superiority, to a woman as if she were clueless about the topic, even though she is knowledgeable about it, possibly even more than he is (Enguix, 2022). It came into widespread use after Rebecca Solnit’s book Men Explain Things to Me (2014), in which she recounts an experience in which a man attempted to explain and recommend a book that he had read without letting her speak, making it impossible for her to tell him that she was the author of the book he was talking about.
Enguix, Begonya (2022). «Men know, Women listen: Mansplaining, Manspreading and other Malestream Stories». McGlashan, M.; Mercer, J. (eds.), Toxic Masculinity: Men, Meaning and Digital Media. London: Routledge.