We all like to think we treat people fairly, but men often assume women are less competent, and white people are likely to assume darker skin equals lower intelligence. We’re all taught gender bias in behavior and communication from an early age, with boys and girls being criticised and praised for different behaviors in school.
How does bias affect your interpretation of the above? Both questions are complicated by sexism and other kinds of bias. You also run the risk of undermining yourself by looking like you have an inflated opinion of your own knowledge. You may, regardless of your intent, undermine them by implying you don’t trust their competence or intelligence. Are you making bad assumptions about competence? Explaining things to knowledgeable people isn’t just wasting everyone’s time. Conversation is a good place to start building the habit of consent. Explaining after they’ve declined your help is almost always disrespectful. Do they want the explanation? If someone asks you a question, explain away! Unsolicited explanations may be fine (within reason) if you’re someone’s teacher or manager. I realised the “-splaining” part comes down to three factors: I hadn’t developed a succinct explanation for what distinguishes mansplaining, so I spent a few minutes drafting a diagram, as I often do to examine or explain ideas in my work. 
When people (almost always men) explain the product design methods in my own book to me, I say I’m well-acquainted with them, mentally roll my eyes, and move on.
0 kommentar(er)
