Muddlers Beat

Hi. I originally had a post here talking a little about the idea of “mansplaining” from a personal perspective, and I woke up this morning to a hateful, anonymous comment—the first one in 9 1/2 years of making comics.

I also woke up in a fold-out bed in a hospital room with my sick husband. So you’ll forgive me if I’m not up for dialogue today. I deleted all the comments I’d gotten, hateful and not, and turned off commenting for this comic. Don’t make me turn off commenting on all comics permanently.

And… I get it. Being a man is hard. We’re in constant competition, and people expect a lot from us. I, too, am a man in this culture. It’s exhausting. And this isn’t something that comes solely from men; women reinforce it too, just as much as men.

If the word “mansplaining” makes you angry, please question your feelings about it. But don’t talk to me about it. I’m tired.