The gender star (German: Шаблон:Lang-de, or diminutive Шаблон:Lang-de; Шаблон:Lit) is a nonstandard typographic style used by some authors in gender-neutral language in German.[1] It is formed by placing an asterisk after the stem and appending the feminine plural suffix "-innen". For example, Шаблон:Lang-de ([male] driver, singular & plural) becomes Шаблон:Lang-de (drivers). The gender star makes it possible to refer to all genders while also including non-binary people.[2]
Alternatives to the gender star include Binnen-I (with medial capital I), the gender gap (where an underscore takes the place of the asterisk) or using inherently gender neutral terms, such as 'people' instead of 'man' or 'woman'.[3] The gender star was named the German Anglicism of the Year in 2018 by the Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache.[4]
In 2019, the German Language Association VDS (Verein Deutsche Sprache; not to be confused with the Association for the German Language Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, GfdS) 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.[11]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.[12] In 2020, the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache declared Gendersternchen to be one of the 10 German Words of the Year.[13]
