An Open Statement About Mansplaining To All The Women In My Life

A lot of important people in my life are women; my mother and I are very close, my sister means a lot to me, some of my friends are women, and the people I am romantically attracted to are women.

I am not a woman, so I obviously do not have any first-hand experience about what women in America, and the world, have to deal with on a daily basis. Luckily, the women in my life tell me, so I do emphasize with women's plight. I am 110% on their side, I do in fact think feminism is the bee's knees.

That being said, there is something I need to address that people might use against me in the future. There is something women deal with that I've learned about and have even witnessed first-hand. This is what we call "mansplaining."

When I first heard the term, I won't lie, I dismissed it. However, after spending a lot of time on social media and going to college, I've seen it happen. And I am genuinely sorry that I thought it was a non-issue.

I was wrong, it is incredibly hurtful and rude to be condescending to people. It's worse when that condescending attitude is rooted in assuming a person may know less because of their sex or identity.

Women that I am friends with have accused me of doing the same, and I would just like to clarify to them that I have never mansplained.

The truth is, I am naturally condescending to everyone I meet, including men, and sometimes even more so to men. The truth is, I do not think I am smarter or superior to women, I'm actually incredibly self-conscious that people will be unimpressed by me, so I feel like I have to try to show off how smart I am.

I quote a lot of famous authors whose works I haven't even read, that's definitely my M.O.

Yes, I do it to impress women, but I also do it to just make friends as well. And it obviously does not work, because people immediately sense that I'm shallow. I do think women mature faster than men, emotionally at least, so it is easier for them to pick up on it. Guys just think I'm a nerd.

However, I have been trying really hard to reckon with my insecurities and shortcomings that cause me to have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships, but I'm not quite there yet. And I did not write this article to self-deprecate, although I was a little droll with the way I wrote this, partly because I firmly believe laughter is the key to solving all of your problems.

I also didn't write this to try to make all the people that thought I was an asshole feel bad or anything. People that don't like me don't read my articles anyway.