One of my favorite podcasts is Who? Weekly, a celebrity podcast. They often talk about “face blindness” which is when an actor resembles other actors and causes confusion. Well, “face blindness” is similar to a term I coined years ago.
Friends typically create a shorthand language either by body language or by words or even sounds that express so much with so little. At some point, I was going to catalog my squad’s dictionary, but I quit after this one word- Manesia. Manesia is a funny portmanteau combining man and amnesia.
Though I created the term years ago, there’s a meme that popped up last year that perfectly sums up what manesia. When Keke Palmer did the Vanity Fair and didn’t recognize Dick Chaney, she inadvertently started the meme, “Sorry To This Man“.
Manesia (noun) — forgetting who a man is even if you have been introduced before to him several times. This happens mainly because men tend to dress similarly in a uniform of untucked striped shirts, jeans, and New Balance sneakers. Also, there is not a lot of diversity of facial hair or haircut style, so it may be difficult to differentiate one guy from others. Women primarily get manesia, but this condition can affect both men and women. A good way to combat manesia is for more men to obtain a personality, be charming and gracious. European accents help as well.
