“We were brought up in a society where we basically didn’t grow up with gender, and it always effectively costs us energy when we start to change our language. People need good reasons why they should invest this energy,” says Tobias Barth from the Hamburg debating club in the 473rd edition of the podcast “important today”. In addition, it is generally difficult for people to break out of patterns.
But these old patterns contribute to old stereotypes becoming more and more solidified in people’s minds if they are not gendered. Barth says in the debate with “Today important” host Michel Abdollahi: “When we talk about the doctor, we think of a man in our head and many studies have been able to prove that. There are then words in the German language, such as housewife or Nurse, they have feminine connotations and they are groundbreaking for how we develop ourselves.”
Tove Hortmann, also from the Hamburg debating club, cannot agree with this at all; she takes the position that other factors play a much greater role than just gender: “I grew up without the feeling of not being able to do anything just because a certain Label is on it. And that doesn’t necessarily have to do with the language, but with role models that you have and if you have the right role models and values, then an inside or the gendered language doesn’t make the cabbage fat anymore.”
What is particularly striking is how emotional the public debate is. People often feel attacked quickly, then words like the “language police” are used or an attempt is made to end the discussion with the non-argument that one currently has completely different problems than gender. Why is that, why do many people feel so personally attacked? Tobias Barth believes: “That there is pressure on people from society to have to gender. If we talk about it now and say that everyone who doesn’t gender is more from the right-wing milieu, almost 75 percent of people feel who do not support the genders are lumped together and that of course leads to a hardening of these fronts.”
And Tove Hortmann also has the impression that people who don’t change out of habit are directly labeled as discriminatory.
Sure, opinionated, on the 12: “today important” is not just a news podcast. We set topics and initiate debates – with attitude and sometimes uncomfortable. Host Michel Abdollahi and his team of stern and RTL reporters speak to the most exciting people from politics, society and entertainment. They let all voices have their say, both the quiet and the loud. Anyone who hears “important today” starts the day well informed and can have a well-founded say.
Whether one changes or not, in the end it is up to all people how they express themselves. There are some recommendations, for example in some companies, but there is no general obligation. Everyone is free to decide how they want to speak and write, without any language police.
Don’t miss any other episode of “Today Important” and subscribe to our podcast at: RTL Musik, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Castbox or in your favorite podcast app. If you have any questions or suggestions, please write to us at heuteimportant@stern.de.
