publications

2026

1. Lire le langage inclusif: Études expérimentales sur les représentations mentales de genre et sur le traitement en lecture

   Julia Tibblin

   Jan 2026

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   This thesis is a collection of four experimental studies, three of which were preregistered, concerning the effects of French gender-fair forms on mental representations of gender and on processing in reading among adult L1 speakers of French. In study I (n = 1,018), the participants were presented with role nouns (such as actors) and asked to estimate the gender ratios in each group. Participants read the nouns either in the masculine form (acteurs) or in one of four gender-fair forms (complete [actrices et acteurs or acteurs et actrices] or contracted [acteur·rices] double forms, or gender-neutral forms [stars de cinema]). All gender-fair forms led to significantly higher proportions of women compared to the masculine form, but no differences were found between the different gender-fair forms. In study II (n = 153), we used a sentence-evaluation paradigm to examine the resolution of gendered anaphoric expressions (hommes ‘men’ or femmes ‘women’) with gender-fair or masculine forms as antecedents. According to the results, the masculine form impeded inclusion of women in the introduced group, but all three gender-fair forms resolved this male bias, although to different degrees. Study III (n = 58) used eye tracking to examine the processing of two different gender-fair forms (actrices et acteurs and acteur·rices) in reading as compared to the masculine form. Controlling for NP structure and length, we found that the complete double forms yielded similar processing costs as the masculine form. In contrast, the contracted double forms increased processing costs in intermediate and late stages of processing. In study IV (n = 55), we compared the processing of contracted double forms to that of novel spellings (éléfant, téière instead of éléphant, théière) with an identical experimental setup as in study III. The analyses indicated that novel spellings increase processing costs in all stages of processing, and to a greater extent compared to the contracted double forms. Taken together, this thesis has shown that French gender-fair forms are effective in increasing representation of women while having either no or a rather moderate effect on processing cost in reading. It also suggests that these forms evoke different types of mental representations and that the contracted double forms are interpreted and processed differently compared to the complete double forms. This indicates that the contracted forms might function rather as neologisms than sole abbreviations of the complete forms. In sum, these results are likely to have important implications for future policymakers.

2. Recognized but harder to integrate: An eye-tracking study of French gender-fair forms during reading

   Julia Tibblin, Pascal Gygax, Joost van de Weijer, and Jonas Granfeldt

   Applied Psycholinguistics, Mar 2026

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   Over the last decades, linguistic gender-fair forms have become increasingly used by individuals and official institutions. In the French-speaking sphere, this has led to heated discussions among politicians and other stakeholders, some of which claim that these forms render texts illegible and inaccessible to the greater public. However, the processing of gender-fair forms in reading has been the topic of few empirical studies. In the present paper, we add to this small body of research by reporting results from a pre-registered eye-tracking study where 58 native French-speakers read short texts which included a masculine form (voisins), complete double form (voisines et voisins) or contracted double form (voisin·es). Consistent with previous findings, the complete double forms were not more costly to process. In contrast, contracted double forms led to increased processing costs in intermediate and late stages of processing, but had no effect on the early stages of processing. Our data also indicate that the processing of contracted double forms becomes easier over time, and that it is facilitated by positive attitudes towards gender-fair language. These findings provide important insights which enlighten the current debate and should therefore be considered in the elaboration of official guidelines regarding gender-fair language.

2023

1. The male bias can be attenuated in reading: on the resolution of anaphoric expressions following gender-fair forms

   Julia Tibblin, Jonas Granfeldt, Joost van de Weijer, and Pascal Gygax

   Glossa Psycholinguistics, Jul 2023

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   Despite the increased use of different types of gender-fair forms in French, studies investigating their interpretation in context remain few. To fill this gap, we conducted a pre-registered study using a timed sentence evaluation task to examine speakers’ possibilities to establish an anaphoric relationship between a gendered anaphoric expression (women or men) and non-stereotyped role nouns as antecedents. The antecedents were presented in their masculine form or in one out of three different gender-fair forms (complete double forms: les voisines et voisins, contracted double forms: les voisin·es, or gender-neutral forms: les locataires). In line with previous findings, the masculine form led to a male bias in the participants’ mental representations of gender. All three examined gender-fair forms resolved this bias, but comparisons of the different forms to each other revealed differences between them. The findings show that complete double forms lead to equally balanced mental representations of gender while contracted double forms slightly favour representation of women. Finally, gender-neutral forms result in a small male bias, although significantly smaller than the one produced by the masculine form. The results are discussed in relation to the mental models theory and provide new and important insights on how gender-fair forms in French are interpreted.

2. There are more women in joggeur·euses than in joggeurs: On the effects of gender-fair forms on perceived gender ratios in French role nouns

   Julia Tibblin, Joost van de Weijer, Jonas Granfeldt, and Pascal Gygax

   Journal of French Language Studies, 2023

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   The present paper reports findings from a controlled large-scale (N = 1018) experimental study investigating how four different gender-fair forms influenced native French speakers’ estimated percentage of women compared to the masculine form (interpretable as generic) in 22 non-stereotyped French role nouns. The findings show that the masculine form generated lower perceived percentages of women compared to all other tested forms. In addition, gender-neutral and double forms were found equally efficient in resolving the male bias induced by the masculine form. Since the role nouns were non-stereotyped in terms of gender, these results suggest that the actual form of a role noun has indeed a strong influence on how the gender ratio of that role noun will be perceived. Moreover, the direction of the questionnaire’s response scale had a significant effect on the results, which entails methodological implications for future research. Finally, the provided ratios can be used for future studies investigating French role nouns in different gender-fair forms. In sum, our study suggests that gender-fair forms in French are an efficient tool for increasing the visibility of women, at least in nouns representing non-stereotypical activities.

3. Écriture inclusive, lisibilité textuelle et représentations mentales

   Cyril Liénardy, Julia Tibblin, Pascal Gygax, and Anne-Catherine Simon

   Discours, Dec 2023

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   Since the fall of 2017, when it was brought to the public debate, gender-inclusive writing has sparked passionate reactions. The debates generated by this linguistic practice are divisive and the discussion on certain aspects, such as the so called midpoint, is paralysed. Many arguments are mobilised by opponents, such as the unreadability of gender-inclusive writing, or the absence of ambiguity in the use of the generic masculine and therefore the uselessness of replacing it with other more explicit techniques. In the present study, we measured the effects of some inclusive devices – complete pair forms and midpoint-abbreviated pair forms – on text readability (implicit and explicit) and mental representations. The results show that regardless of the inclusive device used (generic masculine, complete doublets or doublets abbreviated by the midpoint), readers quickly get used to the form. The results also reveal that texts mobilising inclusive forms generate more mental representations of women than texts written in the masculine form. We discuss these results in the light of current debates on gender-inclusive writing.

4. « L’écriture inclusive, je ne connais pas très bien… mais je déteste ! » : Liens entre connaissances linguistique et historique, orientation politique et attitudes envers l’écriture inclusive

   Tania Sauteur, Pascal Gygax, Julia Tibblin, Lucie Escasain, and 1 more author

   GLAD!, Jul 2023

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   Résumé Français: Si l’écriture inclusive polarise largement l’opinion publique, les causes exactes des réticences envers son usage ne sont pas toujours très claires. Nous explorons les liens entre les attitudes envers l’écriture inclusive et différents facteurs, comme le niveau de connaissance linguistique ou historique de l’écriture inclusive. Nous avons également mesuré l’orientation politique des personnes interrogées, ainsi que leurs opinions quant à la dimension politique de la langue, afin d’en évaluer leurs liens avec les attitudes envers l’écriture inclusive. Les résultats montrent que plus les personnes ont de connaissance historique de l’écriture inclusive, plus elles pensent que l’écriture inclusive répond à des injonctions politiques. Les résultats montrent également que plus les personnes se situent à droite de l’échiquier politique, moins elles connaissent l’écriture inclusive (ses outils ainsi que son histoire) et plus elles la rejettent. La présente étude fournit de nouvelles perspectives d’éclaircissement - liées notamment à la connaissance - sur la défiance exprimée par une partie de la population vis-à-vis des nouvelles pratiques langagières visant à davantage d’égalité.

2020

1. Les attitudes envers le langage inclusif des francophones et leur effet sur l’évaluation d’un texte

   Julia Tibblin

   In SHS Web of Conferences, Nov 2020

   Le 7e Congrès mondial de linguistique française ; Conference date: 06-07-2020 Through 10-07-2020

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   The present study examines in a quantitative manner the relationship between the attitudes toward gender equality and those toward gender-inclusive language. It also studies how a text written with gender-inclusive language is evaluated and observes what factors can act thereupon. Firstly, statistical analyses show that women have more positive attitudes than men, and that residents in a French-speaking area outside France express more positive attitudes than the French. Secondly, the text making use of gender-inclusive language is more negatively evaluated but seems to be just as well comprehended as the same text written using masculine generics. Further analyses show a positive correlation between the attitudes toward gender-inclusive language and the evaluation of the text, but only when the text is written with this kind of language. Finally, the comments left by the respondents provide new perspectives on the use and reception of gender-inclusive writing by 377 French speakers.