In Russia, feminizing nouns considered a first step towards ‘LGBT extremism’ – Technologist

LETTER FROM MOSCOW

Are you one of those who prefer to write “professeure” (female professor) rather than “professeur” (male professor)? Do you say “agricultrice” (female farmer) instead of “agriculteur” (male farmer), without even thinking about it? If you’re in Russia, ou’re on a slippery slope, leading straight to extremism and, from there, to prison. On Tuesday, January 23, the Higher School of Economics, one of Moscow’s leading universities, even banned its students from using any feminized nouns in their written communications.

The move is one of the many consequences of the Russian Supreme Court’s decision to classify a hypothetical “international LGBT civil movement” as “extremist.” The ruling, dated November 30, 2023, left legal experts baffled as to which organization the Court was referring to, and what its motives might be.

Today, the decision, which had previously remained secret, has been published following the first “extremism” charge in the Saratov region against a young woman accused of posting a rainbow flag on Instagram one month before the Court’s decree. Obtained by the accused’s lawyers, the 19-page text was then published by a local Saratov website before being more widely circulated. Although riddled with references to Wikipedia, it offers a rich insight into the worldview of the Russian regime’s hierarchies.

According to Judge Oleg Nefedov, the author of the document, the “international LGBT movement” originated in the United States in the 1960s, both as an “instrument of foreign policy” and as a “means of limiting birth rates and undermining traditional family values.” The movement, described as an “ideology of destruction,” is thought to have taken root in Russia in 1984. While this date is not made explicit, the Court is very precise about the extent of this presence: in 2024, according to the Court, the “LGBT movement” was active “in 60 regions” of the Russian Federation.

‘A threat to the country’s demography’

“Supporters of the movement share common characteristics,” wrote the Court in a style reminiscent of late 19^th century anthropology. “They share certain customs and traditions (such as gay pride festivals), a lifestyle (particularly in their choice of sexual partners), specific interests and a specific language (the use of feminized nouns, such as female leader [dirigeante], female director [réalisatrice], or female author [autrice]).”

An anthropologist, Alexandra Arkhipova, has humorously searched for the first written occurrence of the word “rukovoditelnitsa,” (female leader, in Russian). The term appeared in 1766, in the writings of an archbishop, and was obviously a reference to Empress Catherine the Great, who was not particularly inclined towards traditional family values…

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