The debate about gendering has been controversial for several years now: Some find gender-inclusive language superfluous, others find it extremely important. Why is the topic so polarizing? How can we ensure that language is as fair as possible? And can language even change our thinking and therefore our behavior?

We at Raidboxes have been working intensively on the topic of gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory language. And that's exactly what this article is about: Why and how gender-neutral language should be used - or not. 

Gendering is supposed to offer an alternative to the generic masculine. But does gender-inclusive language really make the world a fairer place? There are plenty of arguments for and against gendering. Before we take a closer look at these, we first need to clarify a few basics.

What does gendering mean? 

Let's start with the most important thing: what is gendering anyway?

The online dictionary defines gendering as "applying gender mainstreaming (to something)". Gender mainstreaming refers to the "realization of equality between men and women, taking into account gender-specific living conditions and interests".

In other words, gendering is about being able to name all people linguistically, integrating them - and thus respecting them to a certain extent. The aim is to address and include everyone. 

In practice, gendering means using all or both genders in language, and no longer just the masculine form. For example, reader is no longer used as a common form, but is replaced by neutral formulations such as reader. 

If you want to use gender correctly, you can choose from a wide range of options, and we'll get to that now.

Overview of common spellings

There are various ways to use gender in German. In written form, genders can be indicated by a colon, asterisk, etc.

These so-called gender signs are intended to express typographically that personal or professional designations include both the masculine, feminine and diverse forms. You have probably seen some spellings before, for example employee, expert or customer. In spoken form, a longer pause is left between the root of the word and the ending.

Let's take a look at the most popular variants using the example of the reader.

1st possibility: Gender sign

When writing, you can put a colon, an asterisk or an underscore between reader and inside. Or you can capitalize the I from the inside: 

• Readers:inside
• Readers
• Readers
• Readers

2nd possibility: Double nomination

By using both or the couple form, you are addressing people who identify as men and women:

• Readers

3rd option: Neutral formulation

Or you can use a gender-neutral formulation. Note, however, that this does not work well with all words:

• Readers 

Don't we have any other problems? 

So far, so good. Perhaps you are now asking yourself the question: What problem do we actually have? And above all: is it a problem at all? And is this issue really that important?

There is a phenomenon that the author Caroline Criado-Perez describes in her non-fiction book Invisible Women as "male unless indicated otherwise". This means that we read most terms as masculine unless they are clearly marked as non-masculine. Linguistically, we assume a standard form, and this is undisputedly the masculine form.

The generic masculine

As already mentioned, there is something in our language that can exclude certain people: the so-called generic masculine. Including all people, although grammatically only men are meant - this claim does not seem to work. So it is often anything but clear that everyone is really meant. 

Global languages can be divided into three categories in terms of gender:

1. gender-specific languages such as Spanish, French and German (where nouns and pronouns have a gender)
2. genderless languages such as Mandarin, Hungarian and Finnish (where nouns and pronouns have no marked gender) and 
3. Languages with natural gender such as English (with gender-specific pronouns and genderless nouns)

However, studies show that countries that use genderless languages are not necessarily far ahead in terms of gender equality.

The generic masculine also occurs in English: For example, in English there is the addition female - for example in current buzzwords such as female leadership, female founder and so on. However, the suffix male is only used in exceptional cases. The author Caroline Criado-Perez puts this principle in a nutshell: "The male sex goes without saying". 

Gendering - what is it actually about?

Several studies show that the generic masculine is not read neutrally, but predominantly masculine. This has a significant impact on the entire gender debate.

In Invisible Women , the author gives a small but significant example of this: emojis. When emojis were first introduced, all platforms designed and coded their emojis as male only - without this being specified by the Unicode standard.

A word like runner was read exclusively as male runner. This example shows that even neutral formulations evoke male associations in our society. Unicode has reacted to this and stipulated that all emojis must be gender-neutral. Female emojis were used first, followed later by gender-neutral emojis. 

Critical voices of gender often argue in this sense that we should introduce gender-neutral terms rather than designating all genders.

The truth is that getting rid of the generic masculine would only be half the battle: male bias is so firmly embedded in our psyche that even genuinely gender-neutral words are read as male.

Caroline Criado-Perez

The quote makes it clear: if we were to use only one gender-neutral emoji instead of three gender-specific emojis, that would not be a solution. The reason is that most people would still read this symbol as a male jogger.

Why gendering is (not) total nonsense

A recent opinion poll of 2,000 respondents revealed that less than 30 percent of the German population think gender-equitable language is important. The rest are either against it or shrug their shoulders:

As already mentioned, there are plenty of arguments against gendering. For example, the readability and comprehensibility of texts can be impaired. Gendered texts are longer, contain strange special characters in the middle of words and may distract from the actual content of the text. But is gendering really destroying our language?

Point of criticism #1 

With all the major global problems of our time, do we really need to concern ourselves with something so trivial?

Yes, there are indeed things that are more important. We have problems that are more urgent and more important, especially in 2021. But that's not really the point of gendering. When we use the generic masculine, it has consequences for our way of thinking and perception, more on that later.

The gender debate shows even more: if we can't even manage to introduce something as supposedly banal as gendering, how can we take further steps towards equality? Our language is a relatively easy valve that all people can use on themselves.

Point of criticism #2

Gendering spoils the language and is grammatically incorrect.

Spelling, correct grammar, readability and comprehensibility have priority. But grammar is man-made and can also be changed by us humans. We no longer speak and write the way we used to.

Just as we have established that capitalization is used at the beginning, we can also establish new rules. For example, that it is grammatically correct to use genders - in whatever form.

Language has never been set in stone and language continues to evolve, especially due to cultural and social influences. Old terms are constantly being replaced by new ones.

Incidentally, gender-equitable language has already been made compulsory at some universities.

Point of criticism #3

It's all far too time-consuming and complicated for me with gendering. 

Gendering brings about change. It is somewhat understandable to refrain from doing so for reasons of convenience. Gendered words may sound complicated, unfamiliar and even a little bumpy. We had the same problems with it at first and had to get used to this way of speaking. Gendering is a matter of getting used to - if you want to get used to it. 

For people who have learned a gender-neutral or genderless language as a native speaker, on the other hand, it is difficult to learn German. This is because it is something new linguistically. People who are familiar with the German language just have to get involved.

Point of criticism #4

There is no linguistic discrimination against non-male persons, because the generic masculine includes everyone.

Our entire language is gendered. The generic masculine is also a form of gendering, albeit a very dull one. Anyone who says that women are always simply included is making it easy for themselves. We are socialized to always think of the male first. When it comes to the majority, many people only think of men - albeit unconsciously.

There are many studies on this. Almost all of them come to the conclusion that the generic masculine strengthens the association of male. Firstly, because we use it to refer to people in general. Secondly, because we mean the gender-specific form. Feminine forms, on the other hand, cannot necessarily be used for men. This creates an asymmetry that benefits men.

With this in mind, the online dictionary is now also being gendered: All 12,000 personal and job titles are currently being adapted. In future, instead of one word article, there will be two - one for the masculine and one for the feminine form.

How language creates reality

Clearly, gender equality cannot be achieved through gendering alone. Of course, words alone will not change everyone's attitude. Gendering alone will not solve all our global problems. But by normalizing gender-inclusive language, we can raise the awareness of children who are learning to speak now and in the future.

In a 2015 study, almost 600 primary school children were read various job titles with descriptions. The occupations were either presented to the children in gender-inclusive language or in the generic masculine.

The children were asked to answer whether they could imagine working in this profession. It turned out that girls who were confronted with gender-equitable terms were much more likely to have the confidence to pursue a STEM profession - i.e. in the field of mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology.

Even if gender-appropriate language is important, it does not solve the problem of female and diverse role models. There is often a lack of role models, especially in STEM professions. However, gendering can be an important step in the right direction.

If we know that people should not express themselves in a discriminatory way, it is perhaps normal that we do not discriminate in other areas of life.

Perhaps children will then also question whether only men can become engineers and only women can become educators. Children learn that not only boys can program. And girls are more likely to have the confidence to pursue professions if the female form is also included, as the short film Redraw the Balance shows.

Conclusion

Society is changing, language is changing: just as we are increasingly adopting English terms and adapting them grammatically, we can also introduce gendering. It's not difficult and certainly not scary. 

We at Raidboxes have opted for the colon spelling. Firstly, because this form is machine-readable and more inclusive: speech output programs automatically read the colon as a pause. Secondly, because the colon visually connects rather than separates.

We know that the spelling is not perfect. But it doesn't have to be. We see the colon more as a tool on the way to a fairer language. Gendering is incredibly important because language shapes our thinking and how we perceive the world.

"Languages of course are living things that we can own and change to suit our needs" - clarifies Caroline Criado-Perez. And we have a need right now: equality for all genders.

Of course, gender is not the only factor for equality. Nevertheless, the issue should be taken into account. Especially because the ratio of effort to effectiveness is relatively low. All that remains to be said is: practice makes perfect - and masters.

Further reading

• Invisible Women
  In her fact-filled book, author Caroline Criado-Perez explains the phenomenon of the gender data gap. She shows where our world is made for men and why this can be dangerous for women - a search for traces of gender equality in everyday life.

• How Language Shapes the Way We Think
  There are around 7,000 languages spoken around the world. But do they also shape the way we think? In her TED Talk, cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares linguistic examples and possible answers.

• Genderleicht.de and geschicktgendern.de
  The websites Genderleicht and Geschickt Gendern provide you with lots of useful tips and tools for non-discriminatory writing and speaking.

• WordPress Code of Conduct
  Be considerate, respectful, and collaborative - these are just a few of the rules of conduct from the WordPress Community Code of Conduct. They all stand for shared values and respectful, collaborative cooperation.

• Raidboxes Code of Conduct
  One of the aims of our own guidelines is to create an awareness of a diverse team - regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability or impairment, origin, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), age, social or economic status.