Campaign Enacted to Purge Italian Dictionary Sexism

International activists want to change the definition of “woman” in an Italian dictionary. (Wikimedia Commons)

Ahead of International Women’s Day, hundreds of high-profile Italians signed a letter on March 6 urging the Treccani dictionary to change its definition of “woman.” In the dictionary, 30 different words for “sex worker” compose the list of the synonyms for “woman,” including the words “cogna” (bitch) and “puttana” (whore) while the synonyms for “man” have broadly positive connotations—"uomo d'affari" (businessman), "uomo di cuore" (man of heart) and "uomo d'ingegno" (man of genius).

Figures such as LGBTQ+ activist and politician Imma Battaglia, politician Laura Boldrini, and the deputy director-general of the Bank of Italy are among those who have signed the letter written by  activist Maria Beatrice Giovanardi aiming to purge the dictionary of its sexist language. As Giovanardi argues in her letter published to the daily la Repubblica newspaper, “Language shapes reality and influences the way women are perceived and treated.” She further remarks that the current definitions in place “reinforce negative and misogynist stereotypes that objectify women and present them as inferior beings.”

Giovanardi spearheaded a similar campaign in November 2020 aimed at the Oxford University Press, as its definitions included the words “bitch,” “bird,” “bint,” and “wench” as having similar meanings to the word “woman.” With tens of thousands of signatures, the OUP embarked on an “extensive” review that led it to ultimately update its definition.

However, though appreciative of the movement enthusiastic about promoting social change, in a letter of response, the Italian language vocabulary director Valeria Della Valle wrote her disagreement with the “burning” of words proposed by these women, as she phrased it. Instead, she argued, it is the responsibility of dictionaries to contain even the “most detestable and outdated expressions,” arguing, as some of the Oxford University Press spokesmen did, that dictionaries are to reflect rather than dictate public use of language in everyday life.

As for Giovanardi, she hopes that this campaign will encourage a broader conversation about sexism in the Mediterranean region in general. She argues dictionaries are “first and foremost an educational tool,” which not only allows them to negatively contribute to the current state of misogyny but also provides the opportunity to positively change the state of gender equality for future generations.