'Françaises, Français': Why the French language need not be so sexist [View all]

[Klaralven]

Last edited Thu Feb 25, 2021, 11:55 AM - Edit history (1)

Opponents of gender-neutral writing have opened a new chapter in their battle to leave the French language “uncorrupted”. But experts say their rearguard action is neither backed up by history nor suited to present times.

After stirring heated debates about “Islamo-leftism” in universities and meat-free meals in school canteens, France’s ruling party has fallen back on another cause célèbre of the conservative camp: defending a status quo in the French language that is unmistakably sexist.

On Wednesday, lawmakers from the ruling LREM party and the opposition Les Républicains tabled a bill calling for a ban on the use of gender-neutral text – known as “inclusive writing” – among government officials and civil servants.

The move comes three years after a government memo warned ministers against using écriture inclusive, which the Académie française, France’s overwhelmingly male-dominated language watchdog, had previously bashed as an “aberration” that places the language in “mortal danger”.

https://www.france24.com/en/culture/20210225-fran%C3%A7aises-fran%C3%A7ais-why-the-french-language-need-not-be-so-sexist