海角大神

In the face of a language bound by gender, where job titles are inherently masculine, Danielle Terrien, a Parisian author and poet,聽has been referring to herself in the feminine form for years.

鈥淚 always call myself an auteure听辞谤 耻苍别听辫辞猫迟别. I always put the 鈥�e,鈥� even in my published works,鈥� says Ms. Terrien. 鈥淚t sounds just as nice written or orally.鈥�

As in most modern Romance languages, every word in French is either masculine or feminine, from a plant to a box to an old shoe. Unlike English, which has the luxury of neutrality, gender can never be stripped away from French, and the default version of words or phrases are automatically masculine.

Until now, this has also been the case for job titles. But at the end of February, the Acad茅mie Fran莽aise 鈥� a group of 36 academics referred to as 鈥淚mmortals鈥� 鈥� announced that the feminine form of professions would officially be allowed.

For many of France鈥檚 professeures, 辫谤茅蝉颈诲别苍迟别蝉,听补苍诲 茅肠谤颈惫补颈苍别蝉聽(writers), the Acad茅mie鈥檚 announcement is an important step in the fight for gender equality. But it has also raised questions about who really determines the rules for the French language.聽

While the feminization of job titles will now be made official 鈥� with new words allowed in textbooks and dictionaries 鈥� the change merely reinforces a phenomenon that has been taking place in French society for several decades. Instead of being the bearers of the French language, the 400-year-old Acad茅mie Fran莽aise is increasingly at the whim of the people 鈥� who ultimately control how words are used.

鈥淭he Acad茅mie Fran莽aise has approved something that has existed for quite some time,鈥� says Mireille Calle-Gruber, the director of the Center for Research on Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris. 鈥淟anguage is a living organism and it doesn鈥檛 wait for the Acad茅mie. Language reflects the evolution of its usage in society, and we shouldn鈥檛 be afraid of change.鈥�

鈥楢 certain aesthetic鈥櫬�

The Acad茅mie hinted in 2014 that the female form of certain job titles would be allowed, but in the end, the Immortals (only four of whom are women) failed to put the modification into writing 鈥� claiming they didn鈥檛 want to impose new terms on those who didn鈥檛 want them and that the feminine forms of some words were downright 鈥渂arbaric.鈥�

鈥淭he French language has a certain aesthetic that you can鈥檛 break or rush,鈥� says Jean Pruvost, a professor emeritus of lexicology and French language history at the University of Cergy-Pontoise. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the Acad茅mie鈥檚 role to not precipitate things, to let the people decide and then say, OK, now we鈥檙e accepting this change.鈥�

But even if the Acad茅mie is supposed to follow society鈥檚 usage of language and not the other way around, many say the Immortals were particularly slow to arrive at this change 鈥� especially in light of recent gender equality awareness campaigns like the #MeToo movement.

At an early-March protest in Paris for International Women鈥檚 Day, junior high school student India decorated her protest sign with the feminine version of several job titles 鈥� docteure听(诲辞肠迟辞谤), auteure聽(author), and 颈苍驳茅苍颈别耻谤别聽(engineer) 鈥� to raise awareness of the lack of gender parity in France.

鈥淭here aren鈥檛 enough women in certain job fields, and in the French language we haven鈥檛 been able to differentiate between a man and a woman,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wanted to denounce that fact.鈥�

Fellow protester Anne-Marie Barin, who worked in a male-dominated technical field up until her retirement, says the Acad茅mie鈥檚 decision is a first step toward recognizing that men and women are equal in the workplace.

鈥淎t the time, I didn鈥檛 think much of the fact that my job title was masculinized,鈥� says Ms. Barin, who was the only woman in an office of 35 men. 鈥淏ut now that I think of it, it would have had an effect on how I felt about my place there if my title was feminine.鈥�

Lukewarm reception from some聽

The Acad茅mie hasn鈥檛 been the only roadblock to the French language鈥檚 feminization. Some say altering certain words can cause confusion 鈥� if a male doctor is a 尘茅诲别肠颈苍 and a female one is a 尘茅诲别肠颈苍e, how will people not be confused by the fact that the word for medicine itself is also 尘茅诲别肠颈苍e?

And聽some聽women, especially those working in male-dominated fields, say feminizing terms will somehow denigrate their position. Some聽female university lecturers 鈥� or ma卯tres de conf茅rence 鈥� have shuddered at the idea of using the feminized version of 尘补卯迟谤别蝉蝉别聽de conference. After all, 尘补卯迟谤别蝉蝉别 is the same word to mean a female elementary school teacher as well as a 鈥渓over.鈥�

Others are simply bothered by the way certain feminized words resonate. French writer聽Fr茅d茅ric Beigbeder聽wrote in a 2005 article for the magazine聽Lire聽that the word 茅肠谤颈惫补颈苍别聽(writer) 鈥� as opposed to the masculine 茅肠谤颈惫补颈苍 鈥� was a 鈥渉ideous term鈥� that made him 鈥渂reak out in a rash.鈥�

But ultimately, gender equality advocates have prevailed, and forthcoming editions of the French dictionary will soon reflect the evolutions that many say have been taking place in French society for some time. It will also put France on par with neighbors Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, who have since followed the lead of Quebec, which integrated feminized job titles into the French language in the 1970s. Perhaps most importantly, it sets a precedent 鈥� even if only figuratively 鈥� for how women should be treated in the workplace and the world.聽

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a magical fix, but it shows children from a young age that men and women can access the same jobs and that women can put a feminine title on their job,鈥� says Marie Buscatto, a professor of sociology who studies gender in the workplace at the聽University of Paris 1 Panth茅on Sorbonne.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 telling women symbolically, you have a place.鈥�