Genderqueerness and the French Language: Why a more neutral French is important in a genderqueer context

An increase in visibility in the francophone world of people whose social gender sits or fluctuates outside the gender binary has prompted the question of how and why we must create a French language that accommodates them. The focus of this presentation, to argue in favour of a more neutral French, will be achieved through linguistic analysis of the two methods used to discuss genderqueer people in French, namely l’Écriture Inclusive and le Français Inclusif. L’Écriture Inclusive is characterised by the use of both the masculine and feminine endings, joined together in the written form by punctuation, e.g ‘Je suis un.e danseur.euse’. Le Français Inclusif is characterised by a multiplicity of options, including the usage of new neutral endings, e.g ‘Je suis an danseuxe’. The linguistic analysis will take as its basis the aim of a non-cissexist approach, which it will be argued that l’Écriture Inclusive fails to achieve. Linguistic and queer theory will also be applied, as well as evidence from personal testimonies collected through interviews. These will be used to show the importance of a more neutral French in a genderqueer context in terms of identity comprehension, identity formation, self-preservation, group and individual wellbeing. A lack of appropriate language means that a non-genderqueer public may have difficulties understanding non-binary identities. There is also a similar effect on non-binary people themselves, in terms of comprehending their own identity. This talk will demonstrate that le Français Inclusif, rather than l’Écriture Inclusive, should be employed as a genre commun and genre inconnu in order to stop genderqueer erasure and invisibility, and to facilitate a language with less emphasis on gender. It will be argued that all forms of neo-French should be valued as a genre social, based on emotive responses from participant testimonies collected during interviews