Meloni, the linguist Vera Gheno: “The choice to be called the president? It is incorrect. If a woman disguises herself as a man to rise to power, it is not conquest "

Since Giorgia Meloni won the elections and became prime minister , the first woman in Italian history, there has been no risk of confusion and mistake for the staff of Palazzo Chigi. In the notes released by the presidency of the Council of Ministers, the president remained the president : this is how the new head of government decided.

Opting for the masculine, in the face of the more natural feminine , is a "marked" choice that "does not surprise me at all, on the contrary", comments Vera Gheno , sociolinguist (or social-linguist , as she likes to define herself as an acute observer of the world of network) and author of several essays including “Feminili singolari. Feminism is in the words ”(Effequ, 2019),“ The reasons for the doubt. The art of using words ”(Einaudi, 2021) and“ Call me that. Normality, diversity and all the words in between ”(Il Margine, 2022).

Women begin to conquer, one step at a time, increasingly important positions, but the life of professional women, even if they limit themselves to photographing reality, who knows why it remains troubled . There are those - not only men but also many women - make easy irony, those who define them as distortions of the Italian language, those who think they lack authority. As if the feminine demeaned the important role that it has painstakingly conquered.

And then there are those who consider them simply useless , superfluous compared to many other more "important" issues. But this is not the case: "What is not named tends to be less visible in the eyes of people", explains Gheno: "Calling women who do a certain job with a feminine noun is not a simple whim but the recognition of their existence" .

Let's start with the word itself: president. What are the grammar rules on its declension?

“President is an ambiguous term, a derivative of a present participle. For this it is enough to change the article to change the genre. Without useless - it ".

In your opinion, what is behind Meloni's male choice?

“I can't speak for Meloni and I don't know what is the reason that led her to use the masculine. Surely it is a preference that deviates from the standard of Italian grammar, which involves the use of the feminine for a feminine referent. At the same time it is a traditional position of the conservatives and the right in Italy. There are many other examples, one above all the former president of the Senate Elisabetta Alberti Casellati ”.

Is it right that everyone chooses how to define or be defined, including Meloni?

"Let's put it this way, this is a moment of interregnum. I can say that the grammatically correct form is the feminine one, the masculine is instead a stretch. Having said that, of course, Meloni is free to define herself as she wants and we to use 'the president "in all other situations. It is clear that being a prominent figure, his choice has political and ideological relevance. It is an exemplum for the people who listen to him".

Why are there all these resistances, sometimes even violent, to feminine variations when it comes to works?

“Calling oneself female in a professional setting, which I want to point out would be perfectly natural, can cause giggles, raised eyebrows, or need explanations. This is why many women, more or less consciously, try to use the masculine. For a form of quiet living ".

Many, however, fiercely defend the choice, other than a quiet life ...

“Because they claim to be 'worth as much as a man'. But is it really necessary to always confront men? Does the masculine really deserve more credit and consideration in itself? Or are we speaking to give a 'belittling' connotation to the female? ”.

As an active observer of social media, she has seen all sorts of things. What are the "arguments" contrary to the most common feminine declensions?

"I happen to read that 'the titles are neutral', it is not true, 'that an engineer does not exist', it is not true. Or that 'graphics create misunderstanding because it is also something else'. But also 'graphic' can mean something else. Assonances and polysemies are perfectly normal in the Italian language. In essence, apologies that are a bit instrumental and far-fetched ".

Why mayor, lawyer and minister no, but teacher, cashier and midwife yes?

“Simple: there is a difference between declining the names of humbler professions and names of highly placed professions or of power. I think the question is simply habit… We are used to hearing about midwives, cashiers and seamstresses because they have always been there. Minister, councilor, mayor, questora, lawyer are 'new' to our ears and therefore seem ugly to us ”.

So is it only a matter of time for them to become part of the common lexicon?

"I hope so".

How important is language in gender issues?
"I would say fundamental, through language we express our thoughts and our way of seeing reality. Words are important and never unrealistic".

Returning to Meloni, do you think your victory is an achievement for all women?

"Meloni is a woman who perfectly adheres to the canons of patriarchy, so she has nothing feminist about it. In this sense, for me it is not a victory, in any way: I cannot think that the biological data is more relevant than the ideological one. As long as women to rise to power they will have to disguise themselves as men, in name but also in facts - let's think about how to harangue, how to dress etc -, I don't think that a single rise can help to break through the famous crystal ceiling ".