The Quebec government is restricting the use of newly created gender-neutral words in official communications, according to the Canadian Press. Officials say the change is intended to preserve the clarity of the French language.French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge announced Wednesday that terms such as the pronoun iel, used by some nonbinary people as a French equivalent to the singular “they,” will no longer be permitted in government departments and municipalities. The policy also prohibits writing practices that combine masculine and feminine forms, such as étudiant.e.s. The use of parentheses, as in étudiant(e), will still be allowed..Roberge said the growing use of gender-neutral words by public bodies was causing confusion. “It is as if everyone had their own grammar,” he told reporters. “It does not make sense.”He said the decision is intended to protect the integrity of the language, not to target gender-diverse people. “We are open-minded. We want people to be happy. This will not change who they are,” he said.The government said residents who identify as nonbinary will continue to be able to choose the gender marker X on certain documents..The new policy will first apply to government departments and municipalities, but Roberge said similar rules will be extended to schools, universities and the health-care system.Opposition groups criticized the announcement. Québec solidaire member Manon Massé said the government was inventing problems to distract from its record. “No one asked for this,” she wrote on social media.Advocacy groups have argued that inclusive writing should move beyond parentheses. A 2021 grammar guide published by a Quebec City trans rights group said parentheses can imply that non-masculine forms are less important.
