From April 1st, gender stars will be banned in Bavarian authorities, schools and universities. Was there ever such a language ban? And does it actually do anything? Language historian Christine Ganslmayer explains.
Discussions about gender can hardly be held in a relaxed manner anymore; there are too many glottic strokes and asterisks, while those who gender as a matter of course don’t understand that you can be against it. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) constantly played up the issue of gender in the state election campaign, and now the state government is writing a “gender ban” into the general rules of procedure for the authorities of the Free State of Bavaria on April 1st.