“As a woman, you can be a literal supreme court justice and still get shouted down like someone’s little sister isn’t exactly encouraging news.” Just ask Sonia Sotomayor.

Manterrupting is the annoying tendency of men to talk over and interrupt women.

One of the reasons my girls are in co-ed schools is to learn how to deal with interrupting boys (and men). I’ve taught them to say “I was speaking” when interrupted by a boy rather than “But … ”, “Yes, and … ”, “Can I just … ” to get back in the conversation, or worse, being silent and letting the boy continue to talk.

It’s a really hard skill to learn, as girls grow up with the message to always “be polite.” I was at least 10 years into my legal career before I consistently used “I was speaking” to cut off an interrupting man. 

Sotomayor, who holds the distinction of being the “most interrupted” Supreme Court justice, recently spoke of the new rules to oral arguments to address the issue of male justices regularly interrupting their female colleagues.

Yes ladies, you can be a literal Supreme Court justice and still be cut-off mid-sentence by a man.

How have you dealt with “manterrupting” in your personal and professional life? Leave a comment.

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