Lann Hornscheidt

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Lann Hornscheidt (2015)

Lann Hornscheidt (* 1965 as Antje Hornscheidt in Velbert ) works in the field of linguistics and Scandinavian studies as well as gender studies and runs a publishing house. Until 2016, Hornscheidt held a professorship for Gender Studies and Language Analysis at the Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies at Berlin's Humboldt University . Hornscheidt sees itself as a neutrois (a non-binary gender identity : gender- neutral) and developed terms such as “ divisive ” and “Profex Drex” (Prof. Dr.).

Life and research

Hornscheidt grew up in a non-academic home in the Ruhr area . 1991 Hornscheidt was at the University of Kiel to Dr. phil. doctoral thesis The L1- and L2-Bilingual Acquisition of Pronominal Reference in Children: A Study of Swedish and English in L2 and Swedish in Non-Dominant L1 Acquisition . In 2004 she completed her habilitation in Scandinavian linguistics at the Humboldt University on the subject of gender specification and its discursive negotiation in modern Swedish . Hornscheidt held visiting professorships at the University of Graz (Institute for German Studies), the University of Örebro (Institute for History ), the University of Turku (Institute for Swedish Linguistics), the University of Lund (Institute for German Studies) and at Uppsala University (Institute for German Studies) .

In 2016, Hornscheidt resigned from the professorship for gender studies and language analysis and has not worked at Humboldt University since.

Gender theory and gender neutral language

Hornscheidt criticizes the general two-gender basic conception of society ("ZweiGenderung") and its ideas of normality and categorization . In Hornscheidt's view, gender discrimination cannot be viewed in isolation from social domination, so racist and ableist structures must always be considered. On the basis of feminist linguistics , Hornscheidt advocates a gender-neutral language with which even those who do not consider themselves to be men or women can identify, and suggests the use of an "x" form that removes gender-specific word endings (e.g. " Einx Schlaux Linguisticsx loves xs books ”). This suggestion is not intended as a requirement for the general introduction of an “x” form as a replacement for male or female forms, but rather a neutral supplementary form. Hornscheidt emphasizes that these are suggestions, not demands, and that the context and addressee should always be considered when using the language form. For example, it makes no sense to choose a gender-neutral form if the group described consists exclusively of men. Also, nobody should give themselves a gender-neutral name who identifies himself with a gender. Hornscheidt refuses to identify himself as a man or woman in the salutation and refers to himself as “Professx” (spoken: Professiks ) in the context of gender-neutral language . In a poem, Hornscheidt addresses the decision to give himself the gender-neutral name "Lann".

In 2012 Hornscheidt organized the exhibition “to dyke_trans” in Berlin, which exhibited art “that enables a feminist, unusual view of 'trans'” and thus of everyone “who does not fit into a classic gender image”.

In 2015 Hornscheidt was jointly responsible for the guidelines for feminist language action .

Hornscheidt works for the non-profit association xart splitta e. V. and is involved in w_orten & meer - publishing house for action that is critical of discrimination .

Criticism and hostility

Hornscheidt's proposals met with many criticisms. Anne-Catherine Simon assessed that there was nothing wrong with the “x-form” as an “individual form of activism”, but as a “serious academic advance for a new language standard”, the proposal led “with involuntary irony precisely the decades of feminist efforts absurdity ”. For a long time there has been a struggle to ensure that women are more present in the language, and now “precisely that should be eliminated again because the system of bisexuality allegedly means an injustice”.

Arno Frank von der taz described the gender equitable forms proposed by Hornscheidt as "elitist newspeak" and "hardly practicable". Research that "consists of sultry odes to their self-made first names" and "cannot distinguish experimental poetry from political action" is not completely pointless, because "an open, enlightened and just world needs such people".

In addition, Hornscheidt was also exposed to personal hostility. In addition to content-related criticism, there were also insults and massive calls for violence in social media , which also came from the right-wing milieu . In Hornscheidt's view, this hatred is often associated with nationalism, with “fear for Germany”, since the authors see women and men as “Germany's natural basis” and see them threatened by people like Hornscheidt. Robin Detje sees the reason for insults and threats also in smug disdain in the mass media, as can be seen from Ulf Poschardt , Harald Martenstein , Jan Fleischhauer or Matthias Matussek . As a result, "real men [...] translated the spirit that breathes them from the glosses of #Ulfharaldjanmatthias into Facebook and Internet comments full of death threats and rape fantasies".

Fonts (selection)

  • The linguistic naming of people from a constructivist point of view. Gender specification and its discursive negotiation in today's Swedish. de Gruyter, Berlin and New York 2006, ISBN 978-3-11-018526-3 , at the same time: Habilitation thesis, Humboldt University Berlin, 2004, under the title: Personal Appellation from a Constructivist Perspective Using the Example of Gender Specification and its Discursive Negotiation in Today Swedish.
  • with Katharina Walgenbach , Gabriele Dietze and Kerstin Palm: Gender as an interdependent category. New perspectives on intersectionality, diversity and heterogeneity. Barbara Budrich, Leverkusen 2007, ISBN 978-3-86649-871-6 , 2nd edition, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86649-496-1 .
  • Gender resigned. Swedish actions in and around language. Humboldt University Berlin, 2008, ISBN 978-3-932406-29-4 .
  • with Adibeli Nduka-Agwu (Ed.): Racism in good German. A critical reference work on racist language acts. Brandes & Apsel, Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-86099-643-0 .
  • with Hanna Acke, Gisa Marehn, Ines Jana (eds.): Swear words - insults - pejorations. How power and identities are negotiated in language. Brandes & Apsel, Frankfurt am Main 2011, ISBN 978-3-86099-684-3 .
  • feminist words. a learning, thinking and action book on language and discrimination, gender studies and feminist linguistics. Brandes & Apsel, Frankfurt am Main 2012, ISBN 978-3-86099-948-6 .
  • Love. Love as political action. w_orten & meer, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-945644-14-0 .
  • with Lio Oppenländer: Exit gender. Letting go of gender and naming structural violence: changing your own perception and social reality. w_orten & meer, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-945644-17-1 .

Scholarships and Awards

  • 2011/2012: Erik Wellander grant for language maintenance from Svenska språknämnden
  • 2009: One-year research award from Riksbankens Jubilee Fund Sweden
  • 2001 and 2003: Prize for outstanding teaching from the Philosophical Faculty II of the Humboldt University in Berlin

Broadcast reports

Web links

Items:

Interviews:

Individual evidence

  1. a b Self-presentation: Lann Hornscheidt. Own homepage, without date, accessed on January 22, 2020 (photo from 2013).
  2. Lann Hornscheidt, interviewed by Nadine Lange: Interview with Lann Hornscheidt: “Let's say goodbye to gender”. In: Tagesspiegel.de . July 23, 2019, accessed January 22, 2020.
  3. Presentation: Prof. Dr. phil. Lann Hornscheidt. In: gender.hu-berlin.de. Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies, Humboldt University Berlin, October 16, 2013, accessed on January 22, 2020.
  4. ^ Lann Hornscheidt: curriculum vitae. Own homepage, undated, accessed on January 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Lann Hornscheidt: Termination of the professorship for Gender Studies and Language Analysis. In: Bulletin Info. Center for transdisciplinary gender studies, Humboldt University Berlin, No. 54, 2017, p. 4/5 ( PDF: 767 kB, 76 pages on hu-berlin.de).
  6. ^ Martin Brandt: Language policy as class privilege. In: KritischLesen.de. Edition 30, October 1, 2013, accessed on January 22, 2020 (book review).
  7. a b Arno Frank: The Truth: Arrow Toad Feminism. In: taz.de November 18, 2013, accessed on January 22, 2020.
  8. Oliver Trenkamp: Just language at the university: Professix in the gender struggle. In: Spiegel Online. April 24, 2014, accessed on January 22, 2020 (interview).
  9. a b Antonia Baum: Gender equitable language: Please say Profx. to me. In: FAZ.NET. November 17, 2014, accessed January 22, 2020.
  10. Lann Hornscheidt: LANN. Own homepage, undated, accessed on January 22, 2020.
  11. Margarete Stokowski: “Confusing the view of the sexes” In: taz.de. May 25, 2012, accessed January 22, 2020.
  12. ^ WG Feminist Language Action (including Lann Hornscheidt): What to do? Language action - but how? Words instead of inaction. 2nd Edition. Center for transdisciplinary gender studies, Humboldt University Berlin , October 2015 ( PDF: 25 MB, 69 pages on feminist-sprachhandeln.org).
  13. Anne-Catherine Simon: "Gender equitable" language: "Professx" and other language mutants. In: DiePresse.de. November 28, 2014, accessed January 22, 2020.
  14. Robin Detje: Gender Debate: Swelling Disgust Factor. In: Zeit Online. November 24, 2014, accessed January 22, 2020.