Book SummaryMen Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca Solnit

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Men Explain Things to Me

In Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit explains that society has a longstanding pattern of treating the rights of women as secondary to the rights of men. This pattern is the result of a pervasive underlying belief rooted in authoritarianism: that men have the right to control women. This pattern manifests in different ways, from men confidently speaking over women, to violence such as rape and murder. In her series of essays, Solnit describes the many ways society mistreats women—discussing statistics and instances of violence against women, the ideology behind sexism and misogyny, and how this ideology manifests on an individual, societal,...

Men Explain Things to Me Summary The Fight for Women’s Rights

According to Solnit, women have long been fighting for basic human rights, including life, freedom, and the right to take part in culture and politics. Despite great progress in recent decades, this fight for equality continues today.

The general message that society sends to women is that this world isn’t built for them and that women’s right to take up space or be heard is dependent on what men want from them. On an individual level, this societal pattern may manifest as irritating but seemingly innocuous interactions, like when a man patronizingly explains a concept to a woman who already knows the topic well—a tendency commonly known as mansplaining. (Shortform note: While Solnit usually avoids this term because she finds it overly general and simplistic, we’ll use it in this guide for the sake of concision.)

However, societal mistreatment of women can also manifest in dangerous, violent ways, such as sexual assault, rape, and murder....

Men Explain Things to Me Summary Statistics on the Mistreatment of Women

Solnit cites statistics to illustrate her point about the mistreatment of and violence against women, particularly with regard to domestic violence, sexual assault, and murder. She notes that these statistics are often purposely excluded from the news cycle—because if we confronted these statistics, we’d have to talk about the reasons behind them, such as the patriarchy and gender roles. And if we did that, we’d then have to discuss how to prevent this violence, which would require significant systemic change in societies throughout the world.

What Is the Patriarchy, and Why Did It Begin?

The term “patriarchy” (which we mentioned earlier but will define in more detail now) refers to a hierarchical social structure that privileges men and masculinity over women and femininity. This structure can play out on both the domestic level (within households) and the public level (within society at large), as we’ll see later in the guide. Patriarchy depends on a strict binary division between men and women, as well as a devaluation of the latter. _[Most societies around the world are...

Men Explain Things to Me Summary Where Does This Violence Come From?

Society and the media often blame male violence in the US on factors such as the ease of acquiring firearms, economic difficulties and class struggles, and issues that affect the brain such as head injuries, lead poisoning, and mental illness. However, Solnit notes, these factors affect men and women equally—yet men commit 90% of the nation’s murders.

(Shortform note: The factors that society blames for men’s violence may play some role—for example, research suggests that the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it 400 times more likely that the situation will result in a death. However, these factors fail to fully capture the issue, and relying on them to explain male violence can inadvertently attribute blame to marginalized communities, such as the mentally ill: Research suggests that most violence is committed by people who aren’t mentally ill. People with mental illnesses are also significantly more likely to be the victims of violent...

Men Explain Things to Me Summary Women’s Voices: Silence and Credibility

As we’ve explained, the authoritarian belief that men have the right to control women is what motivates misogyny and the mistreatment of women. According to Solnit, mistreatment and control include silencing women’s voices. For example, when a man talks over a woman to mansplain something to her that she already knows, he asserts that his own voice is more important and authoritative than hers—he is silencing her because he automatically assumes that she has nothing of value to say.

Violence is also a way to silence women. When someone reacts violently to a woman expressing her opinion or asserting her autonomy, it’s an attack on her right to take up space and to participate in the world—which are supposed to be basic human rights granted to everyone. Solnit suggests that denying women these rights reduces them to the status of subhuman beings.

(Shortform note: Experts suggest that speaking out against the patriarchy doesn’t only cause discomfort for men—both those who consciously believe they should have control over women and those who don’t share this belief but benefit from the privilege it affords. It also causes discomfort for [anyone who has internalized sexism and...

Men Explain Things to Me Summary The Importance of Language

As we’ve seen, a major aspect of mistreatment and control of women is silencing them. According to Solnit, silencing women is effective because language has a major impact on people’s beliefs and perceptions. In this section, we’ll explore how the weight of language lends itself to silencing women, and then we’ll examine the positive effects it can have.

Weaponizing Language

Solnit explains that, while language can be empowering for women who use it to describe their experiences, it can also be used destructively against them. This is well illustrated not only by the phenomenon of mansplaining—which involves a man supplanting the language of a woman with his own language—but also by the way sexism and misogyny manifest in online communities and on social media.

Women in online communities—such as gaming communities—frequently face threats and harassment from men. According to Solnit, this is particularly common when they share opinions that men disagree with. The threats these women receive are a message that their voices are unwelcome, that there’s no space for them, and that their role is subordinate to men.

(Shortform note: Online communities can be...

Men Explain Things to Me Summary Ongoing Progress for the Movement

Despite the widespread violence against women, there’s progress being made. Solnit explains that, while domestic violence is still a widespread problem, it occurs at lower rates than it did in previous decades. Additionally, laws against domestic violence now give women some legal recourse against their abusers, as do laws against sexual harassment in the workplace and previously unrecognized abuses like marital rape and date rape. Just half a century ago, most of these terms didn’t exist.

Solnit argues that the more we confront ongoing patterns of misogyny and violence against women, and** the more we normalize women’s equality and call out the authoritarian belief that men should control women, the closer we’ll get to...

Shortform Exercise: Reflect on Your Experience With Mansplaining

Solnit explains that men often exert control over women (consciously or unconsciously) through mansplaining. In this exercise, reflect on this phenomenon—how you’ve handled it in the past and how you might approach a similar scenario in the future.

Describe a time when you’ve seen a man speak over a woman—possibly a firsthand experience (if you’re a woman, you might think of a time when a man spoke over you, and if you’re not a woman, you might reflect on a time when you spoke over a woman or observed this happening).