A Note on Language & Writing Styles
What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say?
What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own,
until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence?
—Audre Lorde, The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action, 1977
As much as I believe in the power of the people and our transformative potential, as much am I convinced of the power of language and our collective power to reclaim narratives and re-write (our) history, just as so many brilliant feminist authors have shown us. I am only one of countless others to do exactly this: to re-shape language, in order to render it more inclusive, and ultimately to make everyone feel seen and represented — while at the same time knowing this is an impossibility in itself.
Thus, I use uncommon styles of writing specific terms that some readers may find disruptive — which is exactly the goal — such as wo/mxn, humxn, fe*mxle, or un-gendering suffixes like in Asianx, folx, and others (see a list of my distinct writing styles and specific semantics that might be new to some readers below, object to regular reviewing). For instance, writing hxman instead of human is meant to hint to the fact that the term ‘human’ was never inclusive of everyone (as much as it still not is today — always depending on the speaker and their perspective). Then, to represent the variety of lived experiences of genderqueer folx, I try to use diverse ways of addressing or mentioning trans* and nonbinary people — and this inconsistently, in alternate ways, both to constantly remind us of this beautiful variety and for the sake of a varied writing style. Writing optionally s*sters and brxthers or sxsters and br*thers or s*blings is meant to not only hint to the still binary conception of gender that haunts our minds, but also to make all those living beyond these outdated binary categories visible. Similarly, writing dis*abled or dis/abled is meant to hint to the ableist norms that still are very much engrained in our brains — but also, in the spirit of intersectionality, to account for the fact that of course, dis*abled folx are as much genderqueer as everyone else.
I try to write inclusive of everyone, by un-gendering traditionally and inherently gendered words, by pointing at exclusive terms, thinking from different perspectives — I will elaborate on this in greater detail in a dedicated piece on inclusive language and thinking currently in progress (which, I hope, will have this section here reduced significantly). Because this is not done by simply changing some typology/ies. The real change needs to come from within, and it starts with every one of us. Because it does make a difference if we include everyone, and if we write inclusive of everyone, one day, we might also think inclusive of everyone.
My unusual writing styles are intended to challenge the ‘traditional’, prevalent stereotyped notions and associations of those terms, in order to make us un-learn all those biases we are socialised with. To achieve this, we have to constantly question, deconstruct and disrupt the structures of the oppressive power systems we altogether inhabit: ‘[b]ecause we cannot fight old power in old power terms only’, as Audre Lorde (*1979) teaches us. In this context, further drawing on Lorde’s work, I use lowercase for reality-constructing concepts such as ‘western’, ‘european’, ‘global north’ or ‘german’ (in the sense of a national identity) — to underscore both their constructed nature and their generalising character. Let us continue the pioneer work of preceding generations of feminists, and let us reclaim our place and space, let us wander and wonder, while mapping out together that linguistic playground we all inhabit collectively.
I am well aware that this style of typology and writing might come across as overcomplicating things, and that it will be challenging to some, which is why it could be argued that my approach is not distinctly inclusive. This is why I will always provide easy-to-read versions of my blogposts and articles, with consistent un/gendering, formulations and typology. However, I believe that in our increasingly complex world, it is crucial to (be able to) nuance sufficiently, think of and account for the very individual perspectives, experiences and needs of all of us — ‘[t]he only way we can do it is by creating another whole structure that touches every part of our existence’ (Lorde, *1979), that is, to me, at least trying to capture the whole wonderful spectrum of all our individual ways of being in language and writing as well. This includes, of course, to always be aware of your own privilege, and accordingly to curate an open, transparent and respectuful environment and culture of communication — where criticism is expressed respectfully and constructively from one side, as much as it is taken seriously from the other side. Crucially, this includes likewise to always involve and engage folx with lived experiences when speaking about issues of their respective group — essentially, to not speak about them, but with them.
In this spirit, I hope that I have taken into account a vast variety of different voices and perspectives. In case you feel that your individual perspective is missing here, and/or if you would like to share suggestions for improvement or anything else, please do not hesitate to get in touch via mariah.sa@mail.de.
In Love and Resistance — stay angry, inconvenient and loud,
Mahiira
References*
Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider. 1984.
The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action (1977), pp. 29–34.
Penguin Books (2019). https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/williamseng1121-spring2022/files/2022/02/Lorde-The-Transformation-of-Silence-into-Action-1.pdf
Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider. 1984.
An Interview: Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich (1979), pp. 71–102.
Penguin Books (2019).
*Please note: the stated years always refer to the year of first publication, also indicated by the asterisk. Links to the cited works will be provided whenever possible.
List of writing & typology styles
| */+/x | asterisk / superscript + / superscript x refer likewise to trans* and non-binary, genderqueer identities |
| Africanx | for traditionally ‘African(s)’ |
| Americanx | for traditionally ‘American(s)’ |
| Asianx | for traditionally ‘Asian(s)’ |
| Australianx | for traditionally ‘Australian(s)’ |
| brxther(s) / br*ther(s) | for traditionally ‘brother(s)’ |
| cis | refers to the fact that someone identifies with the gender identity they were assigned to at birth |
| Europeanx | for traditionally ‘European(s)’ |
| folx | for traditionally ‘folks’ |
| to gender | refers to the practice of making visible gender identities other than the ‘normative’ ‘standard’ category of cis men, be it in writing, typology and/or speaking [adapted from German, where the verb gendern — a loan word drawing on the English ‘gender’ (in the sense of the social performative gender) — refers to the abandonment of using solely the generic masculine forms by also always addressing the feminine forms, including spacers (*/:/_)] |
| gender-nonconforming | refers to gender expressions not adhering to presumed gender stereotypes |
| genderqueer | refers to gender identities and gender expressions beyond the binary imagination of gender |
| gxrl(s) / g*rl(s) | for traditionally ‘girl(s)’ |
| mxn / m*n | for traditionally ‘man’ or ‘men’ |
| non-binary | refers to gender identities and gender expressions beyond the binary imagination of gender |
| humxn(s) | for traditionally ‘human(s)’, ought to hint to the fact that the term ‘human’ was never inclusive of everyone |
| sxbling(s) / s*bling(s) | for traditionally ‘sibling(s)’, also serves to enhance the equality and connectedness of all humxn beings |
| sxster(s) / s*ster(s) | for traditionally ‘sister(s)’ |
| to un-gender | refers to the practice of rendering inherently gendered terms more neutral — substituting vocals in a word by an asterisk or an ‘x’ is ought to hint at the (gender) diversity that exists also within a group of people with assumedly heterogeneous gender identities [adapted from German, where the verb gendern — a loan word drawing on the English ‘gender’ (in the sense of the social performative gender) — refers to the abandonment of using solely the generic masculine forms by also always addressing the feminine forms, including spacers (*/:/_)] |
| womxn / wom*n / w*mxn | for traditionally ‘woman’ or ‘women’ |