It is so easy to just not look at a woman with a tattoo and speak at her about what she has on her body, and yet, here we are. It’s a tale as old as time, and we are constantly talking about it and then hearing “That didn’t happen.”
The most recent event that has taken over X (formerly Twitter) is equal parts relatable and annoying. The annoying part is the men in the replies claiming things like this do not happen when I, along with many other women, have experienced it. User @kyylien posted a picture of her tattoo of Stevie Nicks while at a Nicks concert and wrote, “A man at a bar mansplained Fleetwood Mac to me.”
One user wrote, “So he tried to strike up a convo over a common interest,” and another said, “I’m old enough to remember when talking to a girl at a bar was called A conversation,” and they fundamentally misunderstand the tone difference between a “conversation” and a man thinking he knows more than you.
The post is hilarious because so many of us have been there. But seeing replies from men acting as if this doesn’t happen or if it was a man trying to talk to her shows that people (mainly men) woefully misunderstand the point we make when posting stories like this online. It does happen, and it happens regularly, and to see how she’s been posting responses to those claiming it is fake is genuinely hilarious.
What I find funny about this situation is that I also have a Fleetwood Mac song as a tattoo on my body, and even then, people quiz me, and it is a Silver Springs-inspired tattoo.
This really happens constantly
Seeing this happen in real time on social media after someone shared a story about it happening really just feels like a universal experience. I have had a man mansplaining Indiana Jones to me while I was wearing my Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade shirt. It took a man telling him I know the most about Harrison Ford for him to stop trying to explain it to me. So yes, it happens.
The problem with the “they were trying to have a conversation” excuse makes it okay for men to start a conversation by questioning someone about a thing they have permanently on their bodies. If you want to talk to someone about a common interest, you can talk to them about it but not make it a question of their own fandom.
“My favorite song is BLANK” would be a great start for music tattoos. Or even “Oh that’s my favorite too! Which is your favorite album/issue/storyline?” can also work! But it is the accusations that come with a specific tone that makes it gross, annoying, and a universal thing that women have to go through.
At least we all have this experience to relate to with each other?
(featured image: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for ABA)
