The topics that Rebecca Solnit brought up are important to recognize, and her way of displaying them demands attention. The topic of women being held down or ignored is not a new one and will not be insignificant for a long time. She is an advocate for women to receive equal respect from men. And she wants it done in a non-violent way.
“This is a struggle that takes place in war-torn nations, but also in the bedroom, the dining room, the classroom, the workplace, and the streets. And in newspapers, magazines, and television, where women are dramatically underrepresented.”
Solnit mentions two specific experiences she has had with “explaining men” who she felt were being superior or argumentative because of the fact that she was a woman. In these examples, both the Aspen man and the translator for Tariq Ali, I feel she was correct in assuming they treated her differently because she was a woman, though I have a difficult time chalking all similar situations up to gender superiority. Her argument is powerful, and it is evident that these issues definitely do exist, but by generalizing (all men, all women) it seems to invite criticism from readers.
“Every woman knows what I’m talking about. 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. It trains us in self-doubt and self-limitation just as it exercises men’s unsupported overconfidence.”
Though she addresses that not all men explain things to women the way they would to a child, it does stir the pot a bit aggressively. The valid and persuasive arguments she makes are dulled by the overlying assumption that she generalizes men, just like she feels generalized by men. In my experience, I do not automatically assume that men are going to talk down to me, and I have had very few instances of this happening to me. I struggle to think of an example when I have been in that type of situation. The whole piece was excellent, and for someone who feels similarly about women’s rights as Solnit I was able to buy into her rally. However, for someone who does not share her claims, it might be easier for that person to disregard (or even argue) her statements because of her generalizations.
E367: Writing and Diversity 
I enjoyed reading your piece Sara. I think that Solnit does have some generalizations about how men talk to women in her pieces. This being said I believe that she has a right to make this claim because of history and its statistics on communication between men and women. I also agree with the fact that she her argument shouldn’t generalize men and women. While reading the piece since she generalized it makes it hard for me to side with her argument and totally agree with her. While I do believe that in our world of course men do talk down on women, I don’t believe that this is something that happens everyday. Especially in our world today I believe that we have made huge steps to making everyone equal and not having superiority over another gender or race. She generalizes the fact that it makes it hard for women to speak up when they feel as if they are going to get criticized by superior men. This to me I view as a generalized statement and is further evidence in which it makes it hard for me to side with her argument.
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Sara,
I’m struck by the generosity of this response. You clearly seem to feel and understand the point about gendered interactions that Solnit is making, yet you want to make room for readers who don’t share her (and your) perspective. So I think it would be a terrible, ironic mistake for me to try to talk you out of this reading.
But I will say, as a male reader, that it seems to me that Solnit works hard to clarify that her criticisms are directed at “some men”, and not at all of them, and also (and maybe this is presuming) since I have myself felt, fairly often, that I’ve had to listen to various male colleagues “mansplain” things to me (you know, “the man who does (and knows) everything better than you”), I feel like I have a pretty good sense of what she’s talking about. So I guess I’m not as worried by Solnit’s generalizations as you seem.
Thank you for another thoughtful response!
Joe
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I agree that this piece was excellent, I could imagine how frustrating it would be to be able to contribute to society in various ways and never given the credit to do or of doing so.
I am also glad it is addressed to her mentee because it is so important that we teach each other self value and acknowledgment in this world. I see the man explaining culture and it makes me wonder if it is changing as newer generations pave the way for a more inclusive culture. As an underrepresented citizen I know how important identity can be and how essays like these make all the difference.
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Sara,
While I agree that generalizations of important issues are negative and harmful, I disagree that this is something Solnit does to an inordinate amount. Throughout her piece, it seemed to me, Solnit was able to list grievances of and experiences with sexist men who sought to talk down to her, while also maintaining that these experiences are not emblematic of all men. The second quote you include does include gender-based generalizations and sexist rhetoric, and, while this is not something I agree with, it happens so little in the piece that I can still support Solnit’s writing and arguments.
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I think it’s interesting that you focused on the generalization of the piece. As a writer, it’s sometimes just easier to speak in generalizations and say “all” instead of “some.” I’m not sure not all men have the intention of “mansplaining” and that not every woman has experience such a situation, but if she focused on those intricacies of reality, I think it would bog down her writing down and she would lose the message she was getting at.
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Sara,
I thought that you had a very thoughtful response to Solnit’s article. I agree that her generalizations can be a bit risky, but I think she does a good job of emphasizing that she knows that there are lovely men in her life that have “listened and encouraged and published” her. I think that she was trying to say that even though not all men “mansplain,” if there are enough men that do, to the point where a new word needs to be created to define their actions, then it’s an issue that needs to be addressed. I do think that we are making strides to help this issue. Even in the last few years since this article was written, I think we are teaching young women that they deserve their own place in the world, and shouldn’t go into conversations feeling lesser than her male peers.
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Sara,
First of all, I just wanted to mention that I think your response was very well written and it advocates for both men and women (which I feel is really the goal, especially in this class). As a woman, I feel similarly to you in that I have not lived my life with the mentality that men are dominating over me. In fact, in many circumstances I have felt the opposite. Solnit mentions that women are battling to be “treated like human beings” which I cannot fully agree with her. There is definitely a gender issue; however, I do not think that it is to the extreme that we are fighting just to be treated like humans.
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Sara,
I really enjoyed reading your piece. I thought you did a really great job of filtering this piece as a whole. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like feel the barriers that she feels each day. I also really liked the first quotation you pulled. I agree that women need more representation on each front mentioned. I also agree that the generalizations she makes can be a bit dangerous. Lastly, I like how you made an effort to argue for the potential good in men, as there are a number of men who feel similar to Solnit’, who could potentially be off-put by her generalizations.
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