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comment by geneusutwerk
geneusutwerk  ·  3968 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: German university opts for gender-neutral language

Although I find this very interesting I do have to wonder about the use of selecting only feminine versions of words. It seems like if the reverse happened (only male versions used) there would be a lot of anger and outrage. I sort of understand the "this is their turn" as an explanation, but what does that really mean in practice? Do we wait 500 years then switch to the male version again?

Wouldn't it be better to create an actual generic noun ending? I know it seems stupid, but a lot of things seem stupid until enough people are doing them.





achughes  ·  3968 days ago  ·  link  ·  

From what I have read yes the conversation around this is based on rotation theory, where the focus on feminine language serves as a way for women to "take their turn". However, there have also been studies that show that masculine words have stronger gender connotations then the feminine variation which is seen as neutral. So I see where they are coming from, and I don't know that I would really have a problem with using the feminine for is the justification wasn't "Its our turn".