Journalistic prize for gender-critical article in Germany

Journalist Ingo Meyer won the Theodor Wolff Prize in the Opinion category for a critical text on the subject of gender in the German language. With his text “The Fairy Tale of Gendersterntaler”, Meyer sheds light on the gender issue, a “topic that is currently being heatedly discussed in every editorial office” without any polemics, the jury justified the award. It is “a gorgeous, courageous text against the mainstream”. In his text, Meyer describes the “overzealousness in the discussion, which leads to absurdities in the language”.

“The Fairy Tale of Gendersterntaler” appeared in the Berliner Zeitung. The author explains why he is against gender-appropriate language and the use of the gender asterisk. Among other things, he justifies his opinion with the fact that the grammatical form of the generic masculine says nothing about biological sex. This writes the Christian German magazine PRO. “The moon is not male, the earth is not female, the universe is not neuter. There is a biological gender and a grammatical gender. The two can overlap, but don’t have to,” writes Meyer.

The journalist also explains that language adapts to people’s imagination. If 100 years ago, the term “voter” only meant men because women did not have the right to vote, today, one automatically associates it with women. “Gender language is neither practical nor expedient,” concludes Meyer.

The Theodor Wolff Prize is a German journalism prize. It has been awarded annually since 1962 in five categories. The award is dedicated to the memory of Theodor Wolff. He was forced into exile by the Nazis from Germany in February 1933 because of his Jewish origin and on account of ferocious opposition to the Nazi Party's seizure of power the previous month. Until 1933, he was the liberal democratic chief editor of the Berliner Tageblatt.