What annoys me the most about this whole thing is that it was a snarky conversation on both sides, and then she was the one who brought gender into it. Her “Mansplaining” comment. Are we getting to a point in politics where people have to try and sugar coat things for women so as not to offend them? Not to be called out as or labeled as a sexist? It is absolutely not misogynistic to tell a woman that you think she sucks at math. It’s not ####ing “Mansplaining” when a man tries to explain something to you that you very clearly don’t understand. Nenshi isn’t always the most eloquent and he can certainly come across as an #######, but he’s not sexist. If you want to call him out for something, call him out for coming across as unprofessional.
Ms. Rempel is only perpetuating the stereotype that women can’t handle a little jibing; that you can’t say certain things to a woman without it being considered misogynistic or sexist. It’s exactly the kind of thing that first generation feminists worked to get rid of. Women aren’t delicate, we can handle condescension. Condescension in itself is not sexist. We’re not special snowflakes, and we certainly don’t need to be talked to like we are. IMO crying sexism like this is completely regressive and it hurts progress women have made in politics and the workforce in general.
Oh, and can we PLEASE drop the word “mansplaining”?
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