<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Although generic masculine forms supposedly include everyone, they seem to evoke masculine representations to the exclusion of other genders (Stahlberg &amp; Sczesny, 2001). Gender-inclusive alternatives may yield more inclusive representations, but this has not been investigated extensively. The current study focused on German and contrasts generic masculine forms (<italic>Politiker</italic>, politicians) with the gender star (<italic>Politiker*innen</italic>, politicians [m/f/d]) in order to assess whether they differ in the mental availability of nonmasculine exemplars. The findings suggest that linguistic form matters, as more female exemplars were listed when participants were exposed to the gender star, although very few other nonmasculine exemplars were mentioned. Furthermore, female participants listed more nonmasculine exemplars than male participants, but, as the sample was skewed (more female than male participants), this result is tentative. Thus, the gender star leads to more inclusive mental representations, but other factors likely also play a role in determining the prominence of nonmasculine exemplars.</p>
</abstract>

Although generic masculine forms supposedly include everyone, they seem to evoke masculine representations to the exclusion of other genders (Stahlberg & Sczesny, 2001). Gender-inclusive alternatives may yield more inclusive representations, but this has not been investigated extensively. The current study focused on German and contrasts generic masculine forms (Politiker, politicians) with the gender star (Politiker*innen, politicians [m/f/d]) in order to assess whether they differ in the mental availability of nonmasculine exemplars. The findings suggest that linguistic form matters, as more female exemplars were listed when participants were exposed to the gender star, although very few other nonmasculine exemplars were mentioned. Furthermore, female participants listed more nonmasculine exemplars than male participants, but, as the sample was skewed (more female than male participants), this result is tentative. Thus, the gender star leads to more inclusive mental representations, but other factors likely also play a role in determining the prominence of nonmasculine exemplars.

A star is born? The German gender star and its effects on mental representation

Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Leiden University

Psychology of Language and Communication

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"A star is born? The German gender star and its effects on mental representation"}

Although generic masculine forms supposedly include everyone, they seem to evoke masculine representations to the exclusion of other genders (Stahlberg &...

A star is born? The German gender star and its effects on mental representation

Published Online: Aug 31, 2023

Page range: 384 - 404

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2023-0018

Keywords
gender-inclusive language, cognitive bias, generic use of masculine forms, gender star, German

© 2023 Pia Kurz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A star is born? The German gender star and its effects on mental representation

Published Online: Aug 31, 2023

Page range: 384 - 404

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2023-0018

Keywordsgender-inclusive language, cognitive bias, generic use of masculine forms, gender star, German

© 2023 Pia Kurz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
gender-inclusive language, cognitive bias, generic use of masculine forms, gender star, German