this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
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I have a sister in law like this. She's really cool and we generally get along but God damn is she hard to deal with sometimes.
There was one instance where it was our niece's birthday and we had made this shitty balloon arch for pictures. When it came to the end of the party and we needed to break it all down, I knew that a bunch of the balloons had like confetti in them. She was helping with the breakdown, and I had dealt with these before so I was like "watch out for the confetti balloons, try to cut them open near the know and let the air out slow, and do it over a garbage can incase it pops. They will shoot confetti everywhere if they pop and it's a pain in the ass to clean up" and she just turned at me with tho most vitriol "ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO MANSPLAIN TO ME HOW TO POP BALLOONS?!" and I was like "Okay jeez, was just trying to help"
Not two minute later I see her with a pin just popping the balloons off of the arch. Fucking confetti everywhere. I turned to my wife, who saw the exchange and I was like "yeah I'm not helping clean that up"
This is the same woman who screams about body shaming etc, and when she expressed interest in one of my friends who is Japanese said "He's hot but it's too bad he probably has a small dick". Like... That's racist AND body shaming.
We agree on a lot of things socially and politically, and like I said generally we get along, but she also complains very loudly about how she can't keep relationships sustained and it's like... Yo, all you do is vocally complain about how men are the source of all problems. But you also want to be with one?
Like, look... I'm all in support of feminism, but it should be about rising women up, not chopping men down. I didn't choose to be born with a penis. Why am I automatically an enemy? I'm an ally.
Fuck.
First part: mansplaing and helping are often hard to tell apart. Especially if you get mansplained all the time. In this case I am sure you are in the right.
Second part: we didn't choose to have a penis but we are part of the patriarchy problem. We were socialized with privileges and those let us behave in a way that keeps said patriarchy working. Feminism for me is about figuring out what helps to level the playing field and what doesn't. I am wrong a lot.
Being an ally is sometimes confused with "I am not doing anything wrong" like not being sexist. That is not enough anymore. We need to speak up when somebody else uses behaves in a sexist way. We need to actively change things because we are the patriarchy and by being part of that are helping to keep the status quo just by existing as a male in the society and passively enjoying the privileges that come with that.
The difference between mansplaining and helping is all about the level of condescension attached to your "help". If you are genuinely trying to relay information that you feel may help someone...you're good. If you're talking down to someone that you feel would already have this information, if only they had been born with a penis...you're being a misogynistic asshole.
Then why call it man splaining? Misogynsplaining is better word than that sexist shit you call it
I agree.
Out of interest and looking at the downvotes: did I not communicate well? Is my position precieved as pro patriarchy?
Not as far as I could tell. I was just adding my two cents to your two cents. It wasn't meant as criticism, just embellishment. I have no idea why you're getting any downvotes. The internet is a weird place sometimes.
Thanks for your response
One of the problems with "Hello, I'm from the internet and I have a story where I was definitely right and the other person was the asshole" is that you're getting a very one-sided narrative without any historical context.
Just-So rants are a dime a dozen around here. "Why am I the victim, just because I'm a guy?" has - in my experience - been a big fucking red-flag.
Sadly true ...
It took me about 40 years to finally realise how much privilege has been bestowed upon me. It's a very strange thing to view personal historical events through this lens. I don't regret anything, the opposite in fact, it's a source personal development.