Italy's education ministry has directed schools to prohibit the increasing use of gender-neutral symbols, claiming they lack clarity and violate Italian grammar rules.
This decision could heighten tensions between the right-wing government, which positions itself as a defender of traditional values, and advocates for LGBTQ and women's rights.
The ministry stated that the use of non-compliant symbols, such as the asterisk (*) and the schwa (ə), contradicts linguistic norms and threatens the clarity and uniformity of institutional communication.
Upon taking office in 2022, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ignited controversy by asserting her preference for the masculine article "il" to precede her official title, "presidente del consiglio," rather than the feminine "la."
In Italian, as in other Romance languages, nouns and adjectives have distinct feminine or masculine forms, with the masculine form prevailing in plural nouns that include both genders.
Some view the predominance of the masculine form as an expression of male dominance and advocate for gender-neutral noun endings like asterisks or the so-called "schwa," an inverted 'e.'
The Accademia della Crusca, an institution dedicated to preserving the Italian language, has previously advised against incorporating gender-neutral symbols in official documents.