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Does the Gender Asterisk ('Gendersternchen') as a Special Form of Gender-Fair Language Impair Comprehensibility?

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Title: Does the Gender Asterisk ('Gendersternchen') as a Special Form of Gender-Fair Language Impair Comprehensibility?
Language: English
Authors: Marcus C. G. Friedrich (ORCID 0000-0002-6645-6903), Selina Gajewski, Katja Hagenberg, Christine Wenz, Elke Heise
Source: Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 2024 61(9):439-461.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 23
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Language Usage, Sex Fairness, Comprehension, Aesthetics, Orthographic Symbols, Gender Issues, Barriers, College Students, Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: Germany
DOI: 10.1080/0163853X.2024.2362027
ISSN: 0163-853X
1532-6950
Abstract: Gender-fair language makes women and people of other genders, their interests, and achievements more visible. However, critics argue that gender-fair language impairs the comprehensibility and aesthetic appeal of texts. This study tests these assumptions specifically concerning the gender asterisk, a form of gender-fair language that makes people outside the male-female dichotomy typographically more visible in German. In two experiments with N = 133 and N = 110, subjects were randomly given one of three versions of a text, either with masculine-only forms (e.g. die "Spieler*innen," ~"the fe*male players"), the gender asterisk in its plural form (e.g. "die Spieler*innen," "the fe*male players"), or the gender asterisk in its singular form (e.g. "der*die Spieler*in," "the*the fe*male player"). Subsequently, participants completed a comprehensibility questionnaire. Both experiments show that the gender asterisk in its singular form impairs comprehensibility, but only Experiment 1 shows an impairment due to its plural form.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PYKVX
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: EJ1441627
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Does the Gender Asterisk ('Gendersternchen') as a Special Form of Gender-Fair Language Impair Comprehensibility?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marcus+C%2E+G%2E+Friedrich%22">Marcus C. G. Friedrich</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6645-6903">0000-0002-6645-6903</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Selina+Gajewski%22">Selina Gajewski</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Katja+Hagenberg%22">Katja Hagenberg</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Christine+Wenz%22">Christine Wenz</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Elke+Heise%22">Elke Heise</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Discourse+Processes%3A+A+Multidisciplinary+Journal%22"><i>Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal</i></searchLink>. 2024 61(9):439-461.
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Data: 23
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  Data: 10.1080/0163853X.2024.2362027
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  Data: Gender-fair language makes women and people of other genders, their interests, and achievements more visible. However, critics argue that gender-fair language impairs the comprehensibility and aesthetic appeal of texts. This study tests these assumptions specifically concerning the gender asterisk, a form of gender-fair language that makes people outside the male-female dichotomy typographically more visible in German. In two experiments with N = 133 and N = 110, subjects were randomly given one of three versions of a text, either with masculine-only forms (e.g. die "Spieler*innen," ~"the fe*male players"), the gender asterisk in its plural form (e.g. "die Spieler*innen," "the fe*male players"), or the gender asterisk in its singular form (e.g. "der*die Spieler*in," "the*the fe*male player"). Subsequently, participants completed a comprehensibility questionnaire. Both experiments show that the gender asterisk in its singular form impairs comprehensibility, but only Experiment 1 shows an impairment due to its plural form.
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  Data: 2024
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