Gender neutral language: Difference between revisions

French, like other romance languages, traditionally has only two grammatical genders : masculine and feminine. Standard French is also filled with sexist rules which have been codified and added to the language over the centuries by different people and male-led institutions like the Académie Française. Such rules include the use generic masculine, or state that "the masculine overpowers the feminine", meaning that when referring to a group made up of 10.000 women and 1 man, one should use the masculine "ils" and not the feminine "elles". French inclusive language goes against such rules, and feminist and queer activists have developed over the last few decades different ways to adapt the French language to women and gender minorities.  

However, there is not one single way to speak inclusively in French, but rather a wide variety of tools and workarounds one can use to adapt one's language. It should also be noted that the "mainstream" inclusive language used by an ever growing number or people, journals and institutions aims at being inclusive of women. These changes, albeit fairly minimal, are still very controversial with certain people. The problem of a language inclusive of non-binary people hasn't yet reached the mainstream debate and remains mostly confined within queer and feminist circles.  

Finally, as it is not officially recognised, it is important to mention that inclusive French might not be accepted in contexts where formal language is expected; such as exams, language proficiency tests, official documents etc...  

==== when referring to a single person ====

These pronouns are considered neopronouns and are used to refer to nonbinary people or someone who's gender is unknown. They are not formally recognised and are not usually used in what could be called "mainstream inclusive French". Their use is mostly limited to nonbinary people, feminist and queer circles as well as the internet. Due to these circumstances, it is common for french gender non-conforming people to accept different sets of pronouns and/or neopronouns.  

!pronoun

|The most common spelling is iel. It is the main gender neutral pronoun used in French and is a contraction of the two binary pronouns "il" and "elle". For that reason some non-binary people do not find it adequate and prefer to use other neutral alternatives. It is also used to refer to someone who's gender is yet to be determined.