Move Over, Mansplaining — There's A New Buzzword To Define Sexism At Work
You’re already familiar (probably too familiar) with “mansplaining,” but what about its brand new counterpart — “hepeating”?
If the word looks like something you’ve never seen, you’re not alone. The word was invented by Twitter user Nicole Gugliucci last weekend, after she posted about a discussion she and her friends had.
(Source: Twitter)
Her tweet went viral over the weekend, getting over 7,000 retweets and 19,000 likes. Though Gugliucci was surprised by how popular the tweet became, she wasn’t surprised by the number of women who could relate to the concept.
“More than once we’ve all run into issues, at work mostly, when we have an idea that doesn’t get any traction until a man says it,” Gugliucci said to The Huffington Post.
Though it focuses on an oft underlooked form of sexism at work, “hepeated” fits right in with current office jargon. It’s very similar to mansplaining, when a man condescendingly explains something to a woman, so it’s not surprisingly that women quickly took to the phrase.
(Source: Twitter)
(Source: Twitter)
(Source: Twitter)
(Source: Twitter)
(Source: Twitter)
Users also took the opportunity to highlight how this behvaior affects people of color. “So many folks deny that this happens,” Gugliucci wrote on Twitter. “Yet so much evidence and research shows it happens to women AND black and brown men and women.”
(Source: Twitter)
(Source: Twitter)
Gugliucci’s Twitter thread has raised awareness for the issue, but there’s still a long way to go in minimizing mansplaining, hepetition and other forms of gender exclusion in the workplace. Gugliucci said that she’s glad to have co-workers who both respect her and recognize these types of behaviors.
“You never know what random thing is going to go viral,” Gugliucci said. “I think it’s interesting women and people of color are recognizing these things, and it’s great they have a tool like Twitter to share their stories.”
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