The gender star (German: , or

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

; ) is a nonstandard typographic style used by some authors in

gender-neutral language Gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language is language that avoids reference towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions, formation of phrases i ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. It is formed by placing an asterisk after the

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

and appending the feminine plural suffix "''-innen".'' For example, (

ale Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...

driver, singular & plural) becomes (drivers). The gender star makes it possible to refer to all

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

s while also including

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

people. In speech, the gender star is sometimes signalled by a

glottal stop The glottal stop or glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication, spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic ...

. Alternatives to the gender star include (with medial capital ''I''), the

gender gap A gender gap, a relative disparity between people of different genders, is reflected in a variety of sectors in many societies. There exist differences between men and women as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, scientific and ...

(where an

underscore An underscore or underline is a line drawn under a segment of text. In proofreading, underscoring is a convention that says "set this text in italic type", traditionally used on manuscript or typescript as an instruction to the printer. Its ...

takes the place of the asterisk) or using inherently gender neutral terms, such as 'people' instead of 'man' or 'woman'. The gender star was named the German Anglicism of the Year in 2018 by the Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache.

Usage

In 2009, the use of the gender star was proposed by Beatrice Fischer and Michaela Wolf of the Centre for Translation Science at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, as an alternative to the

. The gender star was initially primarily used in universities. In 2012 it was recommended in a guide published by the ''

Fachhochschule Potsdam The ''Fachhochschule Potsdam'' is a University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam, the capital of the German federal state of Brandenburg. It was founded in 1991 and teaching began in the 1991/92 winter semester. History After the state of Branden ...

'' (Potsdam University of Applied Sciences). Gudrun Perko: ''Sprache im Blick: Leitfaden für einen geschlechtergerechten Sprachgebrauch.'' Herausgegeben vom Gleichstellungsrat der

, 2012, ISBN 3-934329-53-5, S. 18–19: ''Empfehlungen'' ( auf fh-potsdam.de). In 2013 the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

also recommended its use, as did the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

in 2014. Universität zu Köln, Gleichstellungsbüro: ''ÜberzeuGENDERe Sprache: Leitfaden für eine geschlechtersensible Sprache.'' 6., überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. 19 February 2020, p. 19 ( auf uni-koeln.de
Infoseite
. It began to spread beyond its use in universities from 2015 onwards, Anja Steinhauer, Gabriele Diewald: ''Richtig gendern: Wie Sie angemessen und verständlich schreiben.'' Dudenverlag, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-411-74357-5, S. 46. such as in public bodies and government institutions.

Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung The (, "Council for German Orthography" or "Council for German Spelling"), or , is the main international body regulating Standard High German orthography. With its seat being in Mannheim, Germany, the RdR was formed in 2004 as a successor to ...

– Pressemeldung: ''Empfehlungen zur „geschlechtergerechten Schreibung" – Beschluss des Rats für deutsche Rechtschreibung 16 November 2018.'' Mannheim, 16 November 2018
PDF: 422 kB, 2 Seiten
auf rechtschreibrat.com). The gender star has also been used by the German Green Party since 2015, and the

Berlin Senate The Senate of Berlin (; unofficially: ) is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to ten ...

since 2017.

Response

In 2019, Christiane Hohenstein of the

Zurich University of Applied Sciences/ZHAW The Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW; ) located in the city of Winterthur, with facilities in Zurich and Wädenswil, is one of the largest Fachhochschule, University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland. The university has eight depart ...

was asked in an interview if she thought the gender star was a good solution to include not only male and female but also non-binary identities. She responded positively, comparing its use to how the asterisk symbol is used in database queries and praising its ability to express greater inclusivity. Also in 2019, the (; VDS) launched a petition against the use of the gender star, saying it was a "destructive intrusion" into the German language and created "ridiculous linguistic structures". It was signed by over 100 writers and scholars. Luise F. Pusch, a German feminist linguist, criticises the gender star as it still makes women the 'second choice' by the use of the feminine suffix. Pusch prefers the use of the

Binnen-I In German, a medial capital I (German language, German: ') is a non-standard, mixed case typographic convention used to indicate Gender-neutral language, gender inclusivity for nouns having to do with people, by using a capital letter 'I' ins ...

, which she describes as the established feminist solution to the problem. In 2020, the ''

Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache The ' (, ''Association for the German Language''), or , is Germany's most important government-sponsored language society. Its headquarters are in Wiesbaden. Re-founded shortly after the Second World War in 1947, the is politically independent ...

'' (GfdS) declared ''Gendersternchen'' to be one of the 10 German Words of the Year. The GfdS do not recommend the use of the gender star, however, saying in 2021 that although they support inclusive language when it is understandable, readable and conforms to language rules, they do not believe the gender star fulfils these criteria.

, Pressemitteilung
''Klarstellung: Ja zum Gendern!''
In: ''GfdS.de.'' 26 May 2021, retrieved 27 May 2021. In 2023, the state of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

banned the use of gender stars and gender gaps in schools and education, which marks students' use of the gender stars as incorrect. In March 2024,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

banned gender-neutral language in schools, universities and several other public authorities. In April 2024,

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

banned the use of gender neutral language, including gender stars, in administrative language. In 2024, voters in the city of Zurich voted against an initiative that aimed to ban the use of the gender star in government documents. The initiative campaign was led by Cantonal Councillor Susanne Brunner of the SVP.

References

{{Gender studies Typography Gender-neutral language

Usage

Response

See also

References