Gender war and male superiority
I still hear this rule like a refrain: "In French grammar, it is always the masculine that prevails". Even as a little girl, I wondered about that. Why? "Because that's how it is." Faced with such an argument, it was difficult to question the rule. At the same time, there had to be a rule! We weren't going to make long sentences to conjugate each verb, to grant each adjective according to whether or not there were girls in the sentence. Yes, but still, if there is only one boy and ten girls, it's a bit unfair... Unfair or not, if I wanted to succeed, I had to stop asking stupid questions and learn the rule stupidly by heart. So, like all my classmates, I wrote: "Le garçon et les filles étaient turbulents". And not "turbulentes" with an "e" at the end, it was like that. In the same way, I wrote down the "docteur" and the "auteur" without a "e" at the end too, regardless of whether it was a man or a woman. The real explanation for this macho writing is that:
« The male gender is reputed to be more noble than the female, because of the superiority of the male over the female. » (Beauzée, 1767)
Yep, it's well known. So why bother with a neutral gender like the English speakers? The man prevails over the woman, so the masculine prevails. That's all there is to it.
Yes, but…
From the age of twelve, it seems that I wasn't the only one who questioned this masculine grammar. Even a lot of people didn't agree. Among them, some worked on the inclusive writing project.
Objective
The goal of inclusive writing is to encompass all people who may not feel represented by a designation, whether it be gender, ethnicity, religion, etc.
Some examples of use
Universal terms: instead of saying "les droits de l'Homme", we will say "les droits humains".
Generic terms: « le corps enseignant » instead of « les enseignants et les enseignantes »
Terms related to the function: une auteure, une ministre, une docteure
Majority or Proximity Rule: "cinq femmes et un homme sont venues" (majority of women/femmes), "un homme et cinq femmes sont venues" (proximity of the word "women/femmes" to the verb)
Typographical usage and preference in terms of readability: there are different ways of writing the same word. Let's take the example of the adjective "motivé" which will be written in the masculine, feminine and plural forms at the same time. It can be written as follows:
motivéEs
motivé(e)s
motivé/es
motivé-e-s
motivé.e.s
motivé·e·s
Personally, I agree with the majority in preferring the last option, with the midpoint. It is, indeed, the most readable.
Opponents and critics
I am of the opinion that language is the basis of mentalities and therefore of behaviors. It structures us and influences the way we think. We think according to the words we have at our disposal and then we act accordingly. An evolution of the language, through an inclusive writing, will allow us to evolve in the direction of a more inclusive society.
Obviously, this writing does not please everyone. Some will say that it seriously harms the French language. Mr. and Mrs. Purist will want to preserve at all costs the medieval uses of this language which is so dear to them. I hear their argument, but I wonder where they were when it came to defending the French language of "ognon" and "nénufar". Of course, in both cases it is a question of rectifying an anomaly, but then, couldn't we say the same thing in the situation that matters to us?
Others will say that inclusive writing makes reading more complicated, less fluid. Again, I don't (directly) blame them. Nevertheless, I believe that, as with everything, it just requires a period of adaptation. It doesn't shock (or waste anyone's time) to read acronyms and abbreviations such as: Mrs. Perret, 15:35, 50 km/h... We don't read letter by letter, we understand directly what it means and we read the real word. So let's get used to inclusive writing and soon it will be a piece of cake!
Conclusion
As with any proposal for change, it takes time and serious soul searching. But not only... It's also about relearning how to write and that takes courage and motivation! Am I ready to rewrite my whole site in inclusive writing? Hum... not sure. I must say that I had just finished it when I started to get interested in this subject! So, I too need some time to get used to it. In any case, whatever one thinks of it, whether one adheres to it or not, this new writing has the merit of changing mentalities.
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