Gender Neutral Language

Attempts to modify gendered grammar in French is receiving backlash from the Académie Française, a French literary academy that moderates the language’s grammar and vocabulary. Many languages, including French, are heavily reliant on binary gender structures. Household objects are labeled feminine or masculine, and many words are derived from heteronormative ideology.

Despite some resistance from traditional institutions, communities around the globe are stepping up to challenge binary language.

In Spanish, the phrase Latinx is growing prominence. For those who don’t identify as Latina or Latino, the -x provides a neutral alternative. -@ is another gender-inclusive ending to replace the binary endings of -o and -a. For example, the adjective for ‘funny’ is traditionally either cómico (masculine) or cómica (feminine), but cómic@ is gender neutral. Though there is no official consensus, as more millennials enter the workforce, it is predicted that there will be a gradual increase in Latinx’s usage. Backlash to the term is predicated off of the idea that Latinx will exclude the usage of? Latino/a as well as change all gendered nouns to gender neutral, but proponents only hope to offer an alternative to people who identify outside of the binary, such as agender or genderqueer people.

In German, gendered language is also prevalent—there are three genders: masculine (der), feminine (die) and neuter (das). LGBTQ+ activists are countering this by defaulting to neutral pronouns or using neutral substitutes in lieu of gendered words. For example, some German activists are using the neutral nouns in official documents, and the masculine studenten is being replaced by the neutral studierende (meaning ‘those that study’) in many universities.

Some languages like Finnish, Mandarin, and English lack grammatical gender, making the expression of non-binary folk easily facilitated. They was the American Dialect Society’s 2015 World of the Year and is a simple solution to neutral pronouns in English, but there are still issues regarding official documents. Canada, Oregon, and California now recognize the third gender X on passports and state IDs. Massachusetts has recently proposed a bill to do the same.

by JINHEE HEO