mankeeping means the invisible social and emotional labor that women do for men in heterosexual relationships. It carries an Arena rating of 1246, earned across 76 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mankeeping ranks #192 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,902 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,178 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #5,967 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “mankeeping” is a great word
MANKEEPING — [Noun] The invisible, gendered labor of managing a man’s social, emotional, and logistical life, typically performed by a woman in a heterosexual relationship. From man (“adult male human”) + keeping (“the act of maintaining or managing”). Unlike “housekeeping,” which denotes the physical upkeep of a home, or “emotional labor,” a broad term for affective regulation in professional contexts, mankeeping is the intimate curation of a partner’s personal orbit. It is the mental calendar of his family’s birthdays, the deft softening of his social tensions, and the steady ballast provided for his crises—the quiet architecture of a life, built from the uncredited hours of another.
Etymology
From man + keeping.
noun
- The invisible social and emotional labor that women do for men in heterosexual relationships.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- kinkeeping 65% match — The maintaining and strengthening of familial ties. vs mankeeping →
- homemaking 59% match — The management of a household considered as an occupation. vs mankeeping →
- homemaker 56% match — A person who maintains the administration and upkeep of his or her residence, especially one who is not employed outside the home; one who runs the household. vs mankeeping →
- wifework 56% match — Housework etc. that a man's wife is traditionally expected to do. vs mankeeping →
- boywife 53% match — A young male assuming the employment of homemaking, a role traditionally assumed by women; the submissive partner in the relationship who receives great pleasure in "taking care" of his more dominant partner. vs mankeeping →
- housekeep 52% match — To carry out the domestic duties of housekeeping. vs mankeeping →
- housework 51% match — domestic household chores such as cleaning and cooking vs mankeeping →
- housewifery 51% match — The state or activity of being a housewife; household management, domestic skills. vs mankeeping →