Men Explain Things To Me

“He was already telling me about the very important book—with that smug look I know so well in a man holding forth, eyes fixed on the fuzzy far horizon of his own authority.”

Mr. Very Important patronizingly asks Solnit about her writing but as soon as she begins talking about her newest book, he speaks over her talking about a new book on the same subject. It is some time before Solnit’s friend manages to explain that he is actually talking about Solnit’s own book. Solnit argues that this is a gendered act, an expression of men’s sense of entitlement and arrogant assumption that they are more qualified than women. 

“It’s the presumption that makes it hard, at times, for any woman in any field; that keeps women from speaking up and from being heard when they dare; that crushes young women into silence by indicating, the way harassment on the street does, that this is not their world.”

Solnit maintains that men’s presumption that they are more qualified than women, and their subsequent decision to speak over women, has a profound effect. It silences many women, intimidating them into not speaking out or drowning out their voices when they do.

“At the heart of the struggle of feminism to give rape, date rape, marital rape, domestic violence, and workplace sexual harassment legal standing as crimes has been the necessity of making women credible and audible.”

One of the results of women’s voices being considered less significant than men’s is that it weakens their credibility. This is highly significant in terms of violence against women because it works to undermine their allegations of abuse and their legal testimonies. Accordingly, much of the success feminism has achieved in these areas has been centered on ensuring that women’s voices are heard and their lived experiences recognized.