This last week, Unionen, a private union in Stockholm, Sweden, set up a hotline for people who feel like they are having something “mansplained” to them.
Don’t know what mansplain means? Don’t worry, me neither.
Usually, this happens because someone just assumes the person they are explaining to, doesn’t know what they know. This is how mansplaining became a sexist issue. Men, apparently, have the tendency to over-explain things to women. Even in Sweden.
A union spokeswoman explained to the NY Times why they decided to put up the short term hotline.
It’s important to create awareness about how seemingly small things that we do or say add up to a larger issue.
While mansplaining was originally men over explaining to women, it really can happen to anybody. It seems, though, that women tend to experience more issues in the workplace. The hotline was able to help with anything from mansplaining to how to speak up in the workplace.
It did get some backdraft from men feeling targeted on their Facebook page, and some people who were sick of people mansplaining mansplain.
In any case, I think it is a great way to really see what is going on in the workplace and for people to be more aware of what they are saying to others. What do you think?
Want to practice your Swedish? Read these articles in Swedish: What is Mansplaining?