“Mompreneur” And Other Discourse We Need To Suppress Immediately

Why does she say she is a_mompreneur__ (1)

For as long as I can remember, I have been a #wordnerd. I remember being under ten years old and asking my mom which version of “your” or “you’re” she liked best. Note: At this point, I don’t think I understood the differences, I just thought it was cool that you could spell them differently.

Her response was something like “who cares…?”

Because really, who cares? But for real – I have always had a love for words (which is why I studied the English language for six years in my undergraduate and graduate program). I’m not the grammar police because I make my own mistakes from time to time, but please…I am begging you…let’s start a revolution and get rid of some of these words and phrases.

Guys, please don’t be all pissed off, ok? I’m not bashing your businesses or your social media by any means. But some of the words and phrases I see so often give me a twitch. Hear me out.

MOMPRENEUR. Apparently, this is a mom who has started a home business and has found the luxury of doing both with balance. Which is great! But why do we need to call it this? Why can’t we just say “entrepreneur” and drop it? Help me understand. I need to understand this. I truly need to understand why this is a thing and why it’s gaining popularity on social media. Halp. When you tell me you are a “mompreneur,” I picture you starring in a stock photo of someone selling overpriced jewelry from her kitchen counter.

TOTES ADORBS. I clenched my teeth while writing this. See, I always viewed shortened words or abbreviations as something we do for the sake of convenience. And sometimes, we do it because spelling the entire word is too tricky because the English language is actually quite strange and there are 400 exceptions to every spelling rule (I do it; you do it – don’t be sorry). Example: “etc.” because who WANTS to write or type “etcetera?” While I realize that “etc.” is an abbreviation rather than a shortened version of a word or phrase, I would be the happiest woman on the planet if we stopped saying and hash-tagging and using “totes adorbs.” Does it really require that much more effort to say “totally adorable?” Think about this, please. How much more energy are you putting out, and how much are you increasing your carbon footprint, by saying “totally adorable” vs. “totes adorbs?” I would totes adorbs if you stopped saying “totes adorbs.”

GIRL BOSS. Alright, this one is serious. A “girl boss” is right up there with “momprenuer” except the “girl boss” may or may not be a mom. Whether or not you want this meaning to be superficial and shy in comparison to other titles, it does. The connotation of “girl boss” has likely landed in a place where it will nest for a while, and it’s not a place you’ll like. See, when someone says “girl boss,” it sends the message that you need to exert some kind of force and strange title to make people think you’re legitimate. Chances are you’re legitimate in the ways you would like to be and you don’t need this “title” to help people come to these conclusions. In other words, it seems like a confidence band-aid. Imagine if you replaced “girl boss” with “entrepreneur.” Holds a little more weight, right? Also, once again – we all understand what “entrepreneur” means. “Girl boss?” It’s vague.

GOAL DIGGER. Can we please just say “go-getter?” You have heard of “gold digger,” right? Gold diggers are people who mooch money and other high value items off of others and never return the favor (or pay for the stuff they received). Just saying – why would you want the possible confusion? Like, SALLY, ARE YOU STEALING GOALS OFF OF PEOPLE? Probably not. Put these words in front of someone who hasn’t heard them yet, and they will think that very thing, though.

Alright. I’m done ranting. Bye now.

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