LONDON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is known for pushing boundaries on how politicians deal with gender and the language surrounding it. And he appeared to have done it again recently when he told a woman she should use “peoplekind” instead of “mankind.”

But on Wednesday, days after video footage of the exchange spurred accusations of sexism, Mr. Trudeau told reporters that he had made “a dumb joke.”

“You all know that I don’t necessarily have the best of track records on jokes.”

What was all the fuss about? Here’s a primer.

Maternal love at the town hall

The exchange occurred on Thursday in a town-hall-style meeting in Edmonton, Alberta. The unidentified woman complimented him for recognizing the “ability and power that women actually possess.”