50 Women Share The Dumbest Things That Have Ever Been Mansplained To Them

To gain more insight on this topic, we reached out to Anna Levesque, an award winning mental agility and white water kayak coach who's passionate about helping others build courage and confidence on and off the water. Anna was kind enough to answer a few questions for Bored Panda about mansplaining she's experienced.

"It doesn't happen that often, but it does happen more often that I would like," the coach shared. She's actually written about this exact topic on her blog before, noting that it happens the most often when she posts about a mistake she made on the river.

"In these posts, I'm not asking for advice, but sharing as a way to be vulnerable and relatable to my audience, and let my followers know that even former pro athletes who have been paddling for 30 years mess up," Anna explained.

"Dudes always seem to jump on the opportunity to point out everything I did wrong and how they think I could do better, when I'm more skilled than they are," Anna added. "It's obvious that I know I messed up and understand what happened, and most importantly, I didn't ask for advice!"

She even had an example to share from just last month "I posted on social media a paddling fail that I caught on my GoPro. I posted it because it was an obvious fail that I thought was funny," she told Bored Panda. "The caption was 'So there I was about to do something cool… [with a few laughing emojis] I don’t recommend recreating this.'"

"The very first person who commented was a male paddler telling me why my technique didn't work, and how I should do it if I want to be successful," Anna continued. "And then there were other comments from men pontificating on what they would do or how they do it."

Anna said she initially ignored the comments, but then she replied with a comment about how it's important to not take ourselves too seriously. "Then they kept going so I responded with: 'Wow, y’all’s mansplain game is strong! If I want advice, I’ll ask my hubby, who by the way, kicks all of your [butts]. Just sayin,'" she shared.

"Then one of the guys responded with this: 'I’m sorry, I forgot you’re very sensitive to all but the worship comments. It wasn't a criticism. It was actually more for other people watching, maybe someone who wants to try another technique,'" Anna continued.

"My takeaway is that some men not only feel empowered to mansplain to you, but they also feel empowered to tell you that you're being self-centered when you push back," the coach says. "And, some men who aren't as skilled as you feel empowered to critique your skill and ability, and try to use your platform to pontificate on their ideas."

We were also curious about some of the impacts mansplaining can have. "That depends on how confident and experienced you are, and how experienced the mansplainer is," Anna says. "Typically when I get mansplained, it's by someone who isn't as skilled or accomplished as I am in paddling, and so it's more of a frustration and annoyance. I don't let the person affect my confidence or my ability to perform. I'm also surrounded by a high performing and supportive community, so I have learned to take in feedback only from people who have earned my trust and the right to give me feedback."

Anna also says mansplaining can erode confidence and curb growth potential in folks who are learning or feel less confident in their abilities. "If that person is surrounded by mansplainers and doesn't have a supportive community to turn to, it can lead to them giving up on the passion, job, hobby etc.," she explained. "Because it's no longer fun, and they are constantly being treated like they don't know what they're doing or what they're talking about."

As far as what to do with mansplainers, Anna says she likes the bold approach of calling the person out, and doing so with humor if possible. "This summer, a good friend of mine started to mansplain a really simple kayak design concept to me. So I responded sarcastically with, 'Really?! Thanks for that very basic information. I've been paddling for 30 years, but had no idea!' He responded with, 'Too much?' and we had a good laugh about it. He got it, and we could move on," she shared.

"I'm also not afraid to flex when I need to and let folks know that they've overstepped and that I'm not asking for advice," Anna added. "I encourage women to stop being nice. It's okay to straight talk to someone who is mansplaining to you."

However, the expert acknowledges that can be challenging if there is a power differential or the mansplainer becomes adversarial.

"I think the most important thing for all of us to remember is to only take in feedback from folks who have earned your trust and earned the right to give you that feedback," Anna says. "Seek out those people, so you have folks in your life who support you and who will also advocate for you when a mansplainer comes around. None of us have to take in feedback that we didn't ask for."

If you'd like to hear more wise words from Anna, be sure to visit her website Mind Body Paddle!