Journalists received a note on Monday informing them that they should no longer use inclusive writing in their articles.
Der Tagesspiegel, a German daily newspaper published in Berlin, is losing its subscribers. The reason? Inclusive writing is not to everyone’s taste. Management reacted on Monday in a note distributed to the newsroom, announcing the end of inclusive writing in the print edition.
Tagesspiegel had been using inclusive writing for almost two years. The editor-in-chief has informed his staff in a circular that the masculine gender will be used again.
According to the German daily newspaper Bild, inclusive writing is responsible for an increase in complaints and subscription cancellations in the print edition. Online editions are not affected by this decision at the moment.
The topic has been generating debates for many years in Germany. Last June, Kai Wegner, mayor of Berlin, incurred the wrath of a lot of people after announcing to the newspaper Bild that he would not use inclusive language during his term of office. The then-newly-elected mayor justified his argument by stressing the importance of ensuring that migrants arriving in Germany, who are encouraged to learn German, do not find the language more difficult than it actually is.
On the French side, Emmanuel Macron spoke out against inclusive writing at the inauguration of the Cité internationale de la langue française in Villers-Cotterêts last October. France must “not give in to fashion trends,” he said at the time, just a few hours before the Senate voted in favor of banning inclusive writing, by 221 votes to 82.
In 2021, the Académie française, the principal French council for matters pertaining to the French language, also opposed the practice in an open letter published on their website.
Inclusive writing regularly sparks heated social debate. In a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, a team of scientists demonstrated that neutral formulations, with no grammatical gender markers, do not completely eliminate the bias towards the masculine gender, unlike double forms which mention both the masculine and feminine genders.
Does inclusive writing guarantee gender equality or make the language more complicated? The debate remains open.
