Double gender marking in French: a linguistic practice of antisexism

Abstract

Linguistic antisexism is different from the institutional feminization of language. It involves practices of double gender marking which work to avoid the gender dichotomy. Working on a French written corpus, this paper will examine the forms of double gender marking, looking at typographic, morphosyntactical and rhetorical levels; then, it will analyse this gender-related practice as a use of language as a political tool. Those who use double gender are not driven by the desire to standardize linguistic practice, but rather to use practices for particular political purposes. The focus of this use is not to be prescriptive about language but rather to critique social realities. They do not do this work through institutions and the usual mechanisms of language planning, but rather deploy individual practices for ideological purposes. Although nonetheless, they still achieve a certain commonality of practice. Linguistic antisexism and double gender marking are phenomena of micro-language planning achieved by individuals.

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