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kliolupa 's review for:
Men Explain Things to Me
by Rebecca Solnit
Men Explain Things to Me opens with a sharp and relatable essay that helped define the term “mansplaining,” and for that alone, it holds a firm place in feminist writing from the 2010s. The title essay is witty, biting, and instantly recognizable to many women’s experiences.
However, beyond that strong beginning, the collection starts to show its limitations. Solnit often frames gender as the primary lens through which all violence and oppression must be viewed, which can come across as overly reductive. Her claim that “violence has a gender” oversimplifies a much more complex intersection of power, history, and culture. It’s not that the patterns she identifies aren’t real, but the framing lacks nuance and broader context.
There are also moments in the book where cultural assumptions go unchecked, particularly in how non-Western women are portrayed. For example, describing the burqa purely as a symbol of erasure dismisses the agency and meaning it can hold for those who choose to wear it. And while Solnit critiques terms like “mansplaining” for being too accusatory, she later introduces “Manistan” as a metaphor for patriarchy, which feels both lazy and culturally insensitive.
That said, the book is clearly written, and the essay format makes it accessible and easy to engage with. While it lacks the intersectional depth and theoretical grounding many readers today might expect, it still captures the frustration of being dismissed or silenced.
A solid feminist read from its time, but one that’s showing its age.
However, beyond that strong beginning, the collection starts to show its limitations. Solnit often frames gender as the primary lens through which all violence and oppression must be viewed, which can come across as overly reductive. Her claim that “violence has a gender” oversimplifies a much more complex intersection of power, history, and culture. It’s not that the patterns she identifies aren’t real, but the framing lacks nuance and broader context.
There are also moments in the book where cultural assumptions go unchecked, particularly in how non-Western women are portrayed. For example, describing the burqa purely as a symbol of erasure dismisses the agency and meaning it can hold for those who choose to wear it. And while Solnit critiques terms like “mansplaining” for being too accusatory, she later introduces “Manistan” as a metaphor for patriarchy, which feels both lazy and culturally insensitive.
That said, the book is clearly written, and the essay format makes it accessible and easy to engage with. While it lacks the intersectional depth and theoretical grounding many readers today might expect, it still captures the frustration of being dismissed or silenced.
A solid feminist read from its time, but one that’s showing its age.