Men Explain Things to Me

Men Explain Things to Me

by Rebecca Solnit

Finished another RA favorite book, Men Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca Solnit.  It is a series of essays that she wrote over a number of years compiled and published in 2014, which helped re-ignite the latest movement for female equality and voice. Essays range from reflections on Virginia Wolff to emphasizing the role men play in the physical abuse of women. She is given credit for the term "mansplaining", though she refutes that she created the term. The book came out prior to the #metoo movement, but it has been used as a resource to share the troubling issues related to sexual harassment and sexual assault.  Her essays go deep into facts of female abuse around the world with specific examples used to emphasize her points.  It is a deeply troubling series of facts shared that leads one to realize - when will the abuse stop??  Solnit does not only try to educate men on the facts – she reminds the reader that there are men who serve as allies as well.  But men need to lead the charge on educating other men on the serious issues related to physical abuse.  The essays on their own are well-written and compel the reader to action.