«The League clarifies that the bill proposed by Senator Manfredi Potenti is a completely personal initiative. The party leaders, starting with the group leader in the Senate Massimiliano Romeo, do not agree with what is reported in the Potenti bill, the text of which does not in any way reflect the line of the League, which has already asked for its immediate withdrawal”.
According to League sources, the proposal aims to ban “the feminine gender for neologisms applied to institutional titles” such as “sindaca” or “avvocata” in public documents.
Valente (Pd), withdrawal thanks to opposition
The League forced Carroccio senator Manfredi Potenti to withdraw the bill ‘Provisions for the protection of the Italian language, with respect to gender differences’ thanks to protests from all the oppositions. We are obviously happy about it, but I say to everyone: let’s not underestimate the problem. It was a serious matter, not a ridiculous or anti-historical initiative. Thinking that the feminine declination of institutional or professional names corrupts the Italian language and for this reason also foresees heavy fines, reveals a very specific thought: that is, that women in public life are a frill to be erased and that the system, male and chauvinist, is the point of reference for everyone, the neutral of male subjectivity that encompasses everything. This right believes in the patriarchal model of society and demonstrates it continuously: on abortion, on female employment, on the family. Let’s not lower our guard, because change starts from language”. This is what PD senator Valeria Valente says.
Appendino, M5S: “League forced to withdraw it because…”
“Okay, but when is the male mayor coming, the real one? It’s a question that, when I was mayor, I was asked more than once by school children visiting the Town Hall. Why? Because they expected to see a mayor, as they had always heard about him, therefore a man. Because yes, the way we speak reflects the way we think. I remember that, when the election campaign was about to begin, I was having dinner with my family and I said that I was undecided whether to introduce myself as “candidate Mayor” or “candidate Mayor”. One of my nephews looked at me in surprise and said: “but auntie, you’re a woman, why should you call yourself in the masculine? It’s wrong, I learned that at school”. It was enlightening. A child, with his simple and irrefutable logic, swept away all doubts. And I am deeply proud of that choice because language is a living subject. It changes over time and space, it conditions and is conditioned. Today we do not speak as we spoke a hundred years ago, and in a hundred years we will not speak as we speak today. If little girls and boys grow up hearing about “teacher” and “lawyer” they will be implicitly led to think that “the teacher” is female and “the lawyer” is male. So the little girls will take it for granted that it is better for them to be teachers and the little boys will take it for granted that it is better for them to be lawyers. And this is an enormous damage that we have done for decades. After all, have you ever heard a man who teaches elementary school be called “teacher”
So why should we call a woman who defends her client “lawyer”? What does the League do in all this? It comes up with a plan to fine those who decline public titles in the feminine. An idea so aberrant that after half a day it is forced to withdraw it. When they stop inventing this nonsense to pull smoke in the eyes of Italians, perhaps, they will find the time to provide answers to the real problems that women in particular expect from them. They who say no to the minimum wage that would especially help women who on average earn 30% less than men, they who encourage precariousness that affects women the most, they who raise VAT on goods for children and cancel Opzione Donna. They, who have a Prime Minister who calls herself “Mr. President”, with a real linguistic error, yes”. Thus in a post on Facebook the vice president of the M5s Chiara Appendino.