Mansplainer or plansplainer? A quiz

Do you ever find it hard to tell the difference between ordinary condescension (a fellah patiently explaining your own area of expertise back to you) and urban-planning condescension (an urban planner of any gender — I’ve been a culprit — using a lot of jargon to explain the place where you already live)? If so, you’re not alone.

Here are some examples: Let’s say you’re waiting on a street corner, and you casually mention to the guy standing next to you, “This street is unsafe to cross.” If he replies, “It’s important to distinguish between perceived safety and the collision data,” you’re talking to a plansplainer. If he starts waxing eloquent on how statistics work, you have a run-of-the-mill mansplainer on your hands (especially if you have an undergraduate degree or minored in statistics).

Or, let’s say if a fellah is explaining to a woman planner what urban planning is, that’s probably a mansplainer. But if he starts going on about density versus intensity, or modal splits, you’re dealing with a plansplainer who cares more about talking over you than talking down to you.

Still can’t tell the difference? Take this quiz and find out.

For each statement, determine whether you are being mansplained to or plansplained to.

1. “Actually, the reason your phone battery drains so quickly is that you have too many apps running in the background.”
2. “I like that coffee shop too. It creates good ground-floor activation.”
3. “The thing about cast iron is that you really shouldn’t wash it the same way you wash other pans.”
4. “I’m not saying your opinion is wrong. I’m saying you may not fully understand the policy context.”
5. “What you’re describing as ‘a nice little neighborhood where you can walk to things’ is something we call a ‘complete community.’”
6. “You can’t really say what wine tastes better unless you control the shape of the glass.”
7. “Let me draw you a diagram on this napkin.”
8. “It’ll make more sense if I show you how compound interest works.”
9. “Has anyone ever explained to you the difference between gross density and net density?”
10. “People think they need more parking, but what they actually need is better transportation demand management.”
11. “It may look like a bench, but it’s actually functioning as public-realm infrastructure.”
12. “I understand that you’ve worked in this field for thirty years. But there’s actually a fair amount of research on the subject.”

Answer key

1=M. Classic mansplainer territory. 

2=P. 

3=M. Extra point if you did not ask anything about cast irons.

4=Trick question. Could go either way. 

5=P. Especially if the neighbourhood has only recently learned what it is called.

6=M. You were just trying to enjoy the wine.

7=Insufficient information. This could become an explanation of tire pressure, tax brackets, floor-area ratio or view corridors. Do not surrender the napkin.

8=M.

9=P.

10=P. No one knows exactly what TDM actually means, which is part of its power.

11=P. Never call a bench a bench when you can swap out for six syllables.

12=Trick question. Could be either. Do not make eye contact.

Now, take a quick look back at the original sentences, and tally up how many mansplainer and plansplainer soundbites you’ve faced in real life.

Your results

Mostly mansplainer:

You have encountered too many people who possess the rare ability to explain something with greater confidence than the person who actually knows it. Common symptoms include beginning sentences with “Actually,” commandeering napkins for diagrams and basking in one’s knowledge of cast iron. 

Mostly plansplainer:

You have encountered more than your fair share of urban planners. There is no known cure, although exposure to ordinary nouns may reduce symptoms. Make sure to remind those afflicted that they need to try saying “sidewalk” instead of “pedestrian realm,” “shop” instead of “ground-floor activation” and “people walking around” instead of “pedestrian activity.”

Equal answers mansplainer and plansplainer:

Congratulations! You have attended a public meeting. Refreshments will not be provided.