About

GENDER IN LANGUAGE PROJECT

ABOUT THE GENDER IN LANGUAGE PROJECT

The Gender in Language Project is a free online resource that provides grammars of normative gender for different languages. Because binary gender is encoded somehow in every single language (as far as we can tell), we begin by displaying sites of normative masculine and feminine gendered reference, also displaying any extant gender-neutral forms in the language. Then, where available, we include gender-inclusive forms created by nonbinary, queer, and trans speakers of those languages meant for the purpose of adequate self-identification. Our data comes from empirical research on these languages as well as queer and trans community-generated research proposing ways to make them more gender-inclusive. The project extends legacies of feminist linguistic activism and also centers the voices of nonbinary, trans, and other queer and gender-nonconforming people around the world.

The project was created in 2021 by:

Ben Papadopoulos (he or they)

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, EDITOR

bpapadopoulos [at] berkeley [dot] edu

I am a sociolinguist and a sixth-year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley. My research revolves around the topic of gender-inclusive language and makes sociological arguments about language as a category of power and the right of queer and trans people to have and use adequate forms of self-identification. This project is based on my doctoral dissertation, which elaborates the theory behind the project, to be filed in Summer 2025.

From 2021 to 2024, the Gender in Language Project was used to mentor undergraduate researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. These students participated either in the Linguistics Research Apprenticeship Practicum [LRAP] in the Department of Linguistics or the Spanish and Portuguese Research Apprenticeship Practicum [SPRAP] in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. Since then, they have gone on to elite graduate programs to proliferate their research and/or began careers in which they similarly work towards gender justice. These contributors include:

Gabí Agramont-Justiniano (they)

gagramont [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Cooper Bedin (they)

cbedin [at] ucsb [dot] edu

Carmela Blazado (she)

cmblazado [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Sol Cintrón (they)

scintron [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Sebastian Clendenning-Jiménez (he, they)

sacjimenez [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Caitlin Clift

caitlinclift [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Keira Colleluori (they)

keiracolleluori [at] mail [dot] fresnostate [dot] edu

Jesus Duarte (he)

jesedduarte [at] g [dot] ucla [dot] edu

Julie Duran

julieduran [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Chandler Fliege

cfliege [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Julie Ha (she)

julieha3 [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Clio Hartman

hartman [at] berkeley [dot] edu

José Iñíguez (he)

jo032702 [at] gmail [dot] com

Ina Nierotka (they)

bunhead815 [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Alexandra Rankin

alexandrarankin [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Kalinda Reynolds (she)

kalindareynolds [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Zaphiel Kiriko Robinson (she)

zaphielkm [at] gmail [dot] com

Drew Rusignuolo (he, they)

croydonblue [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Amar Santos

grantos [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Serah Sim

serahsim [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Chelsea Tang (she)

tang1229 [at] mit [dot] edu

Xuedi Yang

xuedi_yang [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Irene Yi (she, they)

ireneyi [at] stanford [dot] edu

It has also received support and contributions from the following career scholars:

Ehm Hjorth-Nebel Miltersen (they)

e [dot] hjorth [at] hotmail [dot] com

Jennifer Kaplan (she)

jenniferkaplan [at] berkeley [dot] edu

The site has received technical and UX/UI support from the following developers/designers:

Cooper Bedin (they)

cbedin [at] ucsb [dot] edu

Aster Guan

asterguan [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Erin Utter

eutterdesign [at] gmail [dot] com

OUR FLAGS

Besides the first flag, which represents the Black Lives Matter movement, our banner is comprised of flags representing different queer and trans communities. More information about them can be found on the LGBTQIA+ Wiki.