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kilkennyobserver.ie
The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 October 2021
Opinion
Let me womansplain a thing or two... AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON
ALL may be fair in love and war but hardly in politics, where below-the-belt insults get traded regularly. Recent examples of accusations levelled at our representatives include ‘leaking’ and ‘blindsiding’ and now Mary Lou McDonald has added ‘mansplaining’ to the list. That’s a hard one to take. Not necessarily because it brings gender politics into the fray but because it’s a difficult one for men to defend themselves against. At least when someone uses the term leaking, we know what they are talking about, even if the leak isn’t strictly speaking a leak. The difficulty with mansplaining or womansplaining (let’s not engage in gender bias here, although I do notice that the spell check on my laptop doesn’t recognise the latter term) is that it can be hard to define where to draw the line between a regular explanation and one which involves talking down to the explainee as though you have swallowed a textbook.
On top of which is the inference that the splainer is better informed and that you, the explainee, are an ignoramus on account of your sex, so what could you possibly know about such matters? This kind of splaining is infuriating, all the more so because the splainer may be quite unaware of the offence they have given. There are glaring examples: like the doctor who contradicted a labouring woman who said her baby was about the arrive and who told her that she was nowhere near delivery, left the room in search of refreshment and the baby arrived unassisted a couple of minutes later. Then there are grey areas. I nearly caused a cold war in the kitchen recently by telling a man dear to me that he should wait for the oven to heat to temperature before putting pastry in otherwise it would go limp. Was this womansplaining? He evidently thought it was and shoved the pie in a cold oven which had only just been turned on ( the dish turned out fine by the way.) That’s the thing, men don’t like womansplaining, anymore that they are reputed to dislike asking for directions when driving and so women avoid doing it. It can also be,
in these woke times, that folk are sensitised to patronising man to womansplanations. Was Mary Lou being sensitive when Michael Martin spoke about the housing issue and the possibility of power outages in the Dail recently, or was she weaponsing the mansplaining term to use against Martin? (Don’t answer that one if you have a good idea of the individuals’ char-
acters.) Politics does lend itself to splaining, given the cut and thrust of interchanges where the aim is to rubbish the proposals of the opposition and to tell them in no uncertain terms that their policies are totally out the window. One of the vexations things about splaining is that it makes the person on the receiving end feel belittled and that they are being treated as if
they were stupid. My Dad was a great one for explaining things to me at length, like why helicopter blades make the noise they do, (something to do with breaking the sound barrier but I am not going to womansplain that one). I am glad that he did. Let’s face it though, we rely on experts, like the accountants, financial advis-
ers, lawyers, dentists and medics who know what they are talking about and if we aren’t certain that they do we can always look for a second opinion. Wouldn’t it be a step too far if people became wary of sharing knowledge or opinions for fear of being politically incorrect if mansplaining or other splaining became part of the weaponry of sexism?
Taking the first steps into a new career! CASTLECOMER Discovery Park is delighted to announce the second year of its Foundation Programme in Adventure Tourism, run in partnership with Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board. The Adventure Tourism sector is estimated to be valued at €1.2 billion and is one of the fastest growing and most exciting sectors within the Irish tourism industry. Adventure tourism is a great career choice for those who love the outdoors, meeting new people, coaching and being physically active. The programme includes Raft Building; Orienteering; Forest therapy; High Ropes Instructor Training; Bush craft; fire craft and shelter building; Archery; Nature studies and biodiversity; Team building; Canoeing; Ecology and local heritage; Bike skills and ICT skills. Starting this November, this course will introduce participants to the skills and competencies required to work as an activity instructor working in an adventure park. It may also provide a stepping stone into working in different areas of tourism.
“Covid has given the public a new found appreciation of the outdoors, which means places like the Discovery Park continue to grow in popularity. This course is a great way for people to get a taster of what it would be like to work in an adventure tourism setting, from canoeing to mountain biking.” Jo McCarthy, Activity Manager at the Discovery Park Learners do not need any previous formal qualification and no previous experience is required. It is particularly suitable for learners who wish to progress to employment or further education and training. “Last year we were involved in delivering this course in partnership with the KCETB, Kilkenny Leader Partnership and Active Connections, we
were so pleased with the development of the young people. As a social enterprise one of our main aims is to create jobs and we were pleased to offer two graduates a job on completion of the course” Kathy Purcell, General Manager, Discovery Park This course is suitable for young adults in receipt of a DSP payment who would benefit from transitioning back into Education/Training in a very supported environment. If you are a young person aged 18 – 26 and want to try something new which will develop your confidence and help you on the pathway to a career in tourism then apply at www.fetchcourses.ie using the code 332393 or contact KCETB Training Services on 056 7813014 / tsu.recruit@ kilkennycarlowetb.ie
