In 2019, for instance, the city of Hanover mandated the use of gender-neutral language in all official communication, from emails to brochures and posters. And it pioneered the use of what is known as the ‘gender star’ – an asterisk placed inside a noun to indicate that it refers to men, women and nonbinary people alike (such as, Bürger*innen, meaning ‘citizens’). It is a linguistic absurdity.
Following the pattern established in the Anglo-American world, Germany’s language police are doing their best to prevent free and open discussion of trans politics and practices. A few months ago, a group of gender-critical scholars who questioned the claims of transgender ideologues were compared to Holocaust deniers in the media. This weaponisation of the memory of the Holocaust to discredit opponents has now become standard practice in the German public sphere.
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