Gender-Sensitive Language
A cabinet decision by the Bavarian State Government on 19 March 2024 amended the General Rules of Procedure of the Free State of Bavaria. The use of internal word symbols, such as colons, that address people beyond the gender binary was prohibited. This applies to universities when they act as state institutions, e.g. for official correspondence. Research and teaching remain free in their choice of language and the JMU language guidelines remain valid.
We call for the continued use of gender-sensitive language in university interactions, including the use of internal punctuation, in order to be able to address all genders respectfully, to utilise academic freedom to use gender-sensitive language, and to consistently apply the remaining options for gender-sensitive formulations where there are restrictions.
Further statements from various interest groups can be found on the website of the State Conference of Women's and Equal Opportunities Officers at Bavarian Universities, on the homepage of the University Women's Representative at LMU Munich, in the press release from the Student Convention at the University of Augsburg, in the statement from the LMU Student Union, on the homepage of GEW Bayern, on the ver.di website and on the "Verfassungsblog" and KEG pages.
In 2024, the German Research Foundation included the gender star in its gender-equitable language usage and says: “The aim of this innovation is to ensure that all genders are addressed appropriately. This creates the opportunity to treat people in their diversity with appreciation and, if possible, without prejudice.”
Swiss psycholinguist Pascal Gygax from the Université de Fribourg/University of Fribourg was recently awarded the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist of the Year 2024 for his research on this topic:
https://marcel-benoist.ch/preistraeger-2024/
Pascal Gygax, der Psycholinguist, der die Gesellschaft durch… | E2
A recent major study on this topic was published in October 2024:
Brohmer, H., Hofer, G., Bauch, S. A., Beitner, J., Berkessel, J. B., Corcoran, K., Garcia, D., Gruber, F. M., Giuliani, F., Jauk, E., Krammer, G., Malkoc, S., Metzler, H., Mües, H. M., Otto, K., Rahal, R.-M., Salwender, M., Sczesny, S., Stahlberg, D., Wehrt, W., & Athenstaedt, U. (2024). Effects of the Generic Masculine and Its Alternatives in Germanophone Countries: A Multi-Lab Replication and Extension of Stahlberg, Sczesny, and Braun (2001). International Review of Social Psychology, 37(1): 17, 1–25. DOI: https://doi. org/10.5334/irsp.522
