Działania aktywistów języka inkluzywnego w mediach społecznościowych a społeczne postrzeganie feminatywów
Activities of Inclusive Language Activists in Social Media and the Social Perception of Feminativum

Summary/Abstract: Scientific objective and research methods: after the events of autumn 2020 related to the Women’s Strike protests, social networks have seen a significant increase in the activity of people advocating for gender equality. With this in mind, the article will present the operations of inclusive language activists in social media (the descriptive method will be used in this respect); followed by the presentation of survey results, the purpose of which was to: (1) examine whether the use of masculine names in relation to women working in certain professions is actually a factor determining how women perceive the possibility of being active in a given profession; (2) determining how the average user of the Polish language assesses the principles governing inclusive language postulated by activists. Main theses: (1) the use of common male names in relation to women (for example, names of professions) does not impose a clearly exclusionary way of thinking about women––their skills, predispositions, and opportunities to be active in the same fields as men; (2) the undertakings of activists of inclusive language in social media may not be convincing for the users of the Polish language. There is a probability that the postulated linguistic behavior will be considered as hindering communication and unnecessary in the context of striving for the economization of language. The results and conclusions are consistent with the first thesis, but do not confirm the second. The survey showed that the vast majority of respondents believe that language properties have an impact on the implementation of the idea of ​​gender equality, and changes in certain linguistic behavior postulated by activists could contribute to achieving the desired equality. It also turned out, however, that the favor of the respondents towards the proposed solutions is rather declarative. Cognitive value: the results of the survey presented in the text provide up-to-date knowledge about the social perception of feminativum. They also allow for the formulation of assumptions about the success of activists of inclusive language, which is a kind of flagship element of broadly understood inclusive behavior.

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