Over 15,000 recipients: Dispute over gender asterisks at university escalates in large e-mail distribution lists

Created: 07/01/2022, 18:04

By: Nikolas Pelke

At the university in Nuremberg should be gendered.

The guidelines for this went to a large mailing list – as did the replies to the new guidelines.

© Zoonar / IMAGO

With or without an asterisk is the current issue at Nuremberg Technical University.

A new guide caused a real “shitstorm” there.

Nuremberg – After the lectures, the students' questions have so far also been answered by professors at the Technical University of Nuremberg (TH).

In the future, students should ask professors so that the university community does not inevitably have “only” one gender in mind.

For this reason, a guide to the use of gender-sensitive language has been published at the TH in Nuremberg under the title "Communication with asterisks".

Shortly thereafter, this flimsy piece of paper triggered a veritable “shitstorm” about how to use the German language properly.

Gender asterisks at the Technical University of Nuremberg?

Debate erupted online

The reason is easy to explain.

At the TH, “gender-neutral formulations” are to determine official language use in the future.

When it comes to spelling, the “Ohm” wants to use the “gender asterisk”.

In order for the message to spread quickly, the scientists sent a circular email to around 15,000 recipients to the university population.

The reactions of the new colleagues were not long in coming.

For example, one person is said to have spoken of the "LEID thread".

Another person is said to have ironically suggested introducing "Bachelorette" certificates in the near future.

Ironically, the critical answers have again been sent to the very large university mailing list.

As a result, the more or less polemical "star dispute" was suddenly carried out in front of the virtually assembled university community.

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Pros & Cons: Should we change?

E-mail discussion about gender asterisks: University finds incident "regrettable"

In retrospect, the university calls this escalation spiral over thousands of mailboxes "regrettable".

However, only “only” ten mail writers expressed negative opinions.

Some of the senders are currently no longer active at the university.

"The fact that the unobjective posts in particular were spread in an exaggerated form via social media and picked up in other media actually steered the discussion in ways that we had not intended," says Matthias Wiedmann, head of the communications department at the Technical University of Nuremberg , Georg Simon Ohm, on request with.

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Finally, even TH President Niels Oberbeck asked in another e-mail to all university members to no longer use the university-wide e-mail distribution list with around 15,000 addressees for the debate.

After all, the majority of recipients, the students, could not reply to everyone by e-mail for technical reasons and therefore unfortunately could not take part in the popular debate.

Nuremberg: TH asks for serenity - voluntary communication

In the foreword to the new gender guidelines, the university management, probably with foresight, expressly asked for "calmness" with regard to the linguistic innovations.

And on top of that, don't forget to refer to the background.

After the change in the civil status law and the introduction of a third positive gender entry, Ohm University would have to ensure that people beyond the two gender categories that were previously valid also feel accepted and welcome.

The Nuremberg university also expressly points out that the asterisk communication for employees and students remains voluntary.

The guide is only a recommendation.

There would be no disadvantages for anyone if they decided not to use it, emphasizes Matthias Wiedmann, head of university communications.

In principle, gender-sensitive language should therefore be discussed further in detail in order to be able to further develop the still relatively narrow guide.

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