Styrians identify failure

“Gendering is a university castle in the air”

Cordula Simon and Stefan Auer

(Bild: Christoph Hartner)

There is hardly any scientific evidence to justify gendering and other political correctness in language. At least that is the conclusion of research by German studies expert Cordula Simon and historian Stefan Auer. The two Styrians identify a failure of the universities in the discourse on language.

Can language make the world a better place? If you ask proponents of gender equality, the answer is clear: yes! They assume that a "fairer" language also makes for a fairer world. But what scientific evidence is this claim actually based on?

Two scientists from Graz have also asked themselves this question in their book "Political Correctness, Wishful Thinking and Science": "If I torture people to change their linguistic behavior immediately, then I must also be able to prove that I am having a positive effect," says author and German scholar Cordula Simon.

Author and German scholar Cordula Simon

(Bild: Wolfgang Schnuderl)

Scandalous misconduct on the part of science
So she dug into the specialist literature - and uncovered a scandalous misconduct on the part of academia: "It starts with the fact that the findings of early modern linguists such as Saussure on the power of language have been completely misinterpreted. And suddenly the claim was - wrongly - made that the world bends to language and not language to the world," says Simon.

This in turn suited some feminists at elite US universities in the 1980s and 1990s perfectly: "They realized that the preference for men in society was also reflected in the preference for men in language - and therefore demanded: change language so that the world changes."

Countless studies have been carried out to prove this fallacy. The problem: "In our opinion, many of these studies, which are still highly influential today, do not meet scientific standards. They worked with test groups that were far too small in university bubbles, the questions were often misleading and many of the studies could not be repeated by neutral institutions, as is actually standard. In the end, it has to be said, researchers at elite universities sold something as true in a tone of conviction just because they wanted it to be true."

Historian and propaganda researcher Stefan Auer

(Bild: Nabeel Taha Abed)

Morality more important than facts
This is where Stefan Auer, historian and propaganda researcher, came into play. He was interested in the question: "Why are these studies, which at first glance appear to be inadequate, still carried around like a monstrance in the scientific community?"

The answer is complicated, but one thing is clear: "They saw themselves as being on the right moral path and wanted to do good for women and minorities. That's laudable, but we can't base the important fight against sexism and for equal treatment on false facts and scientifically untenable theories."

Because supporters feel so strongly that they are on the right side, anyone who speaks out against it is immediately dismissed as reactionary and sexist

Historiker Stefan Auer

But that's what happened. From the universities, gendering seeped into schools, authorities, politics and the media. There was just one problem, as Simon sums it up: "The language community is a stubborn goat that doesn't want to be told how to speak from above." Depending on the survey, 65 to 80 percent of Austrians are against gendering.

 "But because the supporters believe they are so much on the right side, anyone who speaks out against it is immediately dismissed as reactionary and sexist," says Auer. This has not only emotionalized the discourse on the power of language, but also polarized it: "There's only good and bad - we won't make any progress that way."

"Getthe facts straight first"
The research duo's demand: "We are neither for nor against gendering, but we want to clarify the facts first. And then, based on that, we have to think about What can we do to make the world fairer?" One fact, however, is: "Language can never be imposed by doctrine."

CordulaSimon and Stefan Auerhave published their findingsin the book "Politische Korrektheit, Wunschdenken und Wissenschaft - Das Versagen der Universitäten im Diskurs um Sprache" (Westend Verlag, 320 p., 59 €) .