To be perfectly honest, we don’t reckon many of you needed Google’s definition of ‘mansplaining’. It’s a pretty common term. It was a runner up for Oxford’s word of the year in 2014, FFS.
Yet, when Tanya Plibersek (rather justifiably) accused our new PM Malcolm Turnbull of mansplaining during question time yesterday, no one had a fucking clue.
Plibersek asked: “Can the Prime Minister confirm how much he will restore to the foreign aid program after the cabinet he was part of cut the budget by $11.3 billion?”
To which Turnbull replied: “If the honourable member wanted to get a serious answer she should ask a serious question. If all she’s interested in is making an allegation, making a political argument across the dispatch box, that is fine. But it’s a complete waste of question time.”
Plibersek fired back: “Mr Speaker, I’d rather have an answer than the mansplaining by the Prime Minister.”
Which is when, as it turned out, that most federal politicians (and some press journos) had absolutely zero idea what the term meant.
After the “mansplaining” comment by Plibersek, the Gov front bench replied “manscaping?” “What does she mean?” #qt
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) September 16, 2015
A few of the press gallery also seem baffled by “mansplaining”. #qt
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) September 16, 2015
#qt. lol. Plibersek neatly whacks Turnbull for ‘mansplaining’. He obediently sat down! This is more like it: adult sparring.
— Lady Lamington (@WendyNorthey) September 16, 2015
Having to explain #mansplaining to @stuartrobertmp in #QT. Now this is irony.
— Stephen Jones MP (@StephenJonesMP) September 16, 2015
It goes a little deeper than simply not being up-to-date with recent linguistic developments. Without whipping out the pitchforks, to not understand mansplaining is to be ~somewhat~ unaware of ingrained, subversive sexism, whereby women are silenced by men AND women undermining their intelligence based on gender. Not fucking cool.
This is Tanya’s unimpressed face, BTW. (Photo credit: Alice Workman via Twitter.)
‘Mansplaining’ has now entered Hansard (the official recordings of the Parliament), but tbh, two days in and it already feels like federal politics is back to normal.
Picture: Stefan Postles via Getty Images.
