XOXOXO, Jezebel

Women are signing emails with “xoxo,” which probably doesn’t mean they’re really in love with you or on Gossip Girl, just being casually friendly, as has become the norm. Over in The Atlantic, Jessica Bennett and Rachel Simmons wonder whether the signoff connotes “professional sisterhood” or gendered ditziness:

This gender divide has spawned a new breed of etiquette dilemmas, especially in the workplace. Can xo-ing colleagues shore up office alliances, or does the practice cross a line? Does one run the risk of being labeled a bitch for refusing to reciprocate? And what happens if a woman accidentally xo’s her male boss?”

We’re with Caitlin Moran on this one:

“As someone who’s regularly ended letters to her accountant with xxx, I refuse to feel any shame for this widespread woman-trait,” says Caitlin Moran, the British feminist and author of How to Be a Woman. “Statistics show we’re slowly taking over the world, and I’m happy for us to do it one xxx e‑mail at a time.”