Mary Kenny likes it when kind men help her out
I don’t suppose I’ll be going Scottish hillwalking any time soon. I’m doing well if I do 4,000 steps in a day. But if I should choose to brave the Highlands, is it reassuring to know that I mustn’t be addressed as ‘darling’ or ‘sweetheart’ by male mountaineers? It seems that chaps have had a habit of talking down to females while exploring the rugged heights, explaining – or ‘mansplaining’ – how to read maps, and even offering to accompany ladies for fear they might not be safe. This should not occur, according to Dr Richard Tiplady, a navigational expert and leadership guru. Men are not to be condescending to women on such adventure trails. He has listened to ‘horror stories’ about women undergoing such ordeals as being patronised with terms of endearment, or taken to be the weaker sex on rough terrain. What mixed feelings this arouses in me...
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