Mansplaining

The word "mainsplaining" is a popular term amongst "hip" feminists, especially popular in internet or blog communities. Mansplaining is usually a form of subtle sexism, wherein men "explain" something to women with the assumption that the women know nothing about the topic. Urban Dictionary defines "mansplaining": "To explain in a patronizing manner, assuming total ignorance on the part of those listening. The mansplainer is often shocked and hurt when their mansplanation is not taken as absolute fact, criticized or even rejected altogether." Despite the presence of the word "man" in "mansplaining", both sexes can be guilty of this. I'd say that it is usually a completely unintentional manifestation of privilege. Note- explaining of the non-patronizing, normal type is totally fine!

Here in Ecuador, I've mostly run into mainsplaining by men. I've mentioned before that cocoa production and research are fields that are mostly dominated by men, so I've run into a fair amount of men who think that they know more about cocoa than I do. I've also run into a lot of men who are not involved in the slightest with the cocoa industry in Ecuador, and they still feel the need to explain cocoa to me! I made a presentation last night about my thesis to an all-male group, and afterwards, one of the men came up to me to explain (ahem- mansplain) that there are two major types of cocoa in Ecuador- cacao Nacional and cacao CCN-51. Ummm....I KNOW THIS!!! I've spent my last year researching cocoa! I am a competent, smart woman! I just made a solid presentation in Spanish about cocoa and showed off a few of the sites that I visited- I have presented proof to you that I know about cocoa! And yet this dude thought that it was possible that he knew more about cocoa in Ecuador than I did because he's a man.

This was a group of well-educated, Ecuadorian men, so it's likely that they know a lot about one of their country's major agricultural products- that's fine! That's really great! I just hate the assumption that by nature of being older than me, male, and Ecuadorian that they probably know more than I do. In fact, I'm positive that if I had been a young man, no one would have come up to me to "explain" the cocoa industry in Ecuador. But my position as a young, foreign woman means that I constantly need to prove my thorough knowledge of my topic of interest.

As a final word, I don't mean to disparage the good intentions or the knowledge that these men have. I am 100% positive that they are eager to share information that they think will interest me, and I'm sure that many men have unique insights into the Ecuadorian cocoa industry that I could learn from. My complaint isn't that men are interested in sharing in my interest, it's that they feel the need to explain something as basic as the two different kinds of cocoa that grow here. Talk to me about specific export taxes! Talk to me about the difficulty of calculating the best period of fermentation in areas where the climate can change frequently! Ask me what I think about the introduction of the newer, GMO variety of cacao (CCN-51) while the Ministry of Agriculture has declared the "heirloom" variety (Nacional) a national product. I'm thrilled to engage in a conversation- I just want to be treated as an equal, and to be respected for the amount of time that I've spent researching this topic.