Mansplaining

Kiddo asked me yesterday what "mansplaining" is. I told him that it's when you tell other people how they feel about something. I don't know if that's totally right, but it was at least a repulsive enough idea to him that he got angry about it, and he was quick to point out that mom and I mansplain when we tell him we think he'll like some leafy green vegetable when we all know he won't.

It was a boy's night, so I ordered pizza.

This reminded me of every board meeting I've sat in over the past 20 years, where the company spends a week putting together presentations, wordsmithing, and the like, only to have the entire meeting come down to a question or two that none of the slides address directly. That entire week of work goes down the drain, but everyone tells each other it was a useful exercise.

Originally posted on LinkedIn around March 26, 2021