The Quebec government has decided to crack down on gender-neutral words in official government documents and communications.
Minister of the French Language Jean-François Roberge said this week that the government is banning the use of gender-neutral words in all official government communications in what he says is an attempt to preserve the French language.
The province will ban the use of words like “iel”—basically the French version of the singular “they” pronoun—as well as ways of writing words that attempt to blend their masculine and feminine forms.
For now, Roberge says the policy will apply to government departments and municipalities, but similar rules will be introduced for schools, universities and the healthcare system.
It is the latest move against trans and non-binary people by Premier François Legault’s government. Back in June, the province announced a new prison policy that would force trans people to be detained in provincial prisons according to their assigned sex at birth unless they have had bottom surgery. That’s in addition to the controversial Comité des sages report on gender identity that came out earlier this year and has advocates preparing for further rollbacks on trans rights.
We break down what you need to know about why the Legault government is choosing now—in this broader moment of moral panic around queer and trans people—to create a culture war against a few words.
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