Thank you so much for mansplaining my grammatical intentions. Yes, I meant to say, “I’m not understanding.” You see, even as a static verb, “understand” can be used in the present progressive form. Use of the present progressive is far less common and, therefore, seems awkward. However, there were several reasons for its use: 1) Present progressive removes the static nature of the verb, implying a process. It was a current state of being. 2) It’s actually a far more polite way of saying exactly what you thought I should say. It puts the onus on me for not understanding, not on men for not being clear. Not understanding is my process to own.

If you don’t believe me, feel free to consult the following texts:

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language or Levin: The progressive verb in modern American English

I have taken a class in English grammar. I did it in college while studying for my degree in English that I used to teach high school for four years. I don’t use Grammarly. I AM Grammarly.

Lastly, In your first sentence, the period should be inside the quotation marks and the word “male” would never be capitalized.