For many, it is a necessity, some dismiss it as „gendering„. But why didactics and terminologies have never been so important why and how they can break up the economic structure.

Disclaimer: I am writing this article in English because of the target group, but in this case the generic masculinity is a problem of the German language. So if this doesn’t concern you in your language, I’d like to spread some awareness and maybe it’s a topic for someone who wants to expand into the German market (or just wants to learn the language, it’s not that harsh, I promise).

So for you, here is the definition:
„Generic masculine: masculine noun/ pronoun where the sex of the persons designated […] refers to both male and non-male persons“ (see Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia).

My trigger: In the last few days I have set up digital contracts for CreativeMod. A lengthy but satisfying process that felt really like mentally appealing work (I could even make my best friend, who is studying law, understand that legal texts make you feel somehow smart). After I had discussed everything with my partner, the subject was closed for me. I did not worry much about certain terminology, as I referred to legal texts from my studies and my law book. 

Through a story from @silvicarlsson on Instagram, I sat down in the evening and adjusted the contracts. In her story she talked about whether nowadays you shouldn’t also say „customer (Kundin)“ instead of just „client (Kunde)“. To those who think that this seems excessive, she gave another example. With „the manager (dem Manager)“ (not talking about Karen here), many people have a man in a suit in their mind, just like „nurse (Krankenschwester)“ gives a stereotype.

It is actually strange that these stereotypes still exist and that expressions reinforce them. However, it is precisely these pigeonholes created by the use of certain terms that lead to an imbalance in the professional groups and an injustice in the overall social context. Whether consciously or unconsciously. 

I think that this is an important thought-provoking impulse in today’s economic society and that especially young companies have to make a statement here. We must set a good example to solve the gender conflict and the first step is to abolish the generic masculine (which the English language has been doing for a long time). Our contracts now also say „client (Auftraggeber/in)“ and „representative (Vertreter/in)“.