‘Mansplaining’ billboard taken down after social media savaging

A billboard outside a new university building has been taken down after it was widely ridiculed online for appearing to portray a textbook example of “mansplaining”.

The hoarding, erected outside the site of the University of Adelaide’s future Institute for Machine Learning, shows a man talking animatedly to a group of five women, several of whom appear bored.

On Tuesday, a photo of the advertisement hoarding was posted on Instagram by a local parody social media account,” the ABC reports. The caption suggested that the university appeared to be offering a “Master of Mansplaining”.

The term refers to the phenomenon whereby men talk down to women by explaining concepts in a condescending manner, regardless of either party’s expertise.

Images of the hoarding quickly went viral, with users ridiculing the all-too-familiar scene it seemed to portray:

In a statement, the University of Adelaide said the ad was entirely the work of Renewal SA, the South Australia state government body overseeing the redevelopment of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital site into a “creation and innovation neighbourhood”.

“The photo in question on the Renewal SA hoarding is not a university image,” it said. “It was not supplied by us. It was not approved by us. The people depicted in that photo are not university people.”

A Renewal SA spokeswoman said the offending image was intended to “showcase talented students actively expressing ideas for the future of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site”.

She added that “in recognition of the personal impact of the social media speculation for the individuals”, the hoarding has been taken down.