Published: 22025-05-10 — Updated on 2025-05-10

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Gender-neutral pronouns: between social political activism and linguistic necessity

Dennis Scheller-Boltz
Germanistische Werkstatt
Section: Linguistics
DOI https://doi.org/10.25167/pg.5853

Abstract

In the following, I will focus on the necessity of gender-neutral pronouns in order to refer to a diverse,
not concretely gender-determined, or gender-unknown person. After going into the gender category
diverse, I will discuss theoretical as well as authentic, text-based examples of pronouns. Surveys and interviews
in which the necessity of introducing a gender-neutral pronoun has been analysed will finally make clear that there is still no uniform gender-neutral pronoun in use, that most of the pronouns in use can be described as
sociolectal occasionalisms, socioneologisms at best, and that most of the word creations are based on a political
activism.

Keywords:

genderneutral language, genderneutral pronouns, grammar and identity, gender ideology, genderlinguistics

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Citation rules

Scheller-Boltz, D. (2025). Gender-neutral pronouns: between social political activism and linguistic necessity. Germanistische Werkstatt, (13), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.25167/pg.5853

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