Kontextsensitive Genderwahrnehmung generischer Indefinitpronomina und Personenbezeichnungen

Abstract

This article examines the gender representation of German masculine indefinite pronouns ( jemand ‚someone‘, jeder ‚everyone‘) and masculine role nouns (e. g., Psychiater ‚psychiatrist‘, Hundebesitzer ‚dog owner‘) in non-referential, generically intended contexts. In an online survey ( n = 93), participants completed sentences by inserting a first name (e. g., Zum Aufwachen trinkt jeder gern Kaffee. Auch ___ ist da keine Ausnahme . ‚Everyone likes to drink coffee to wake up. ___ is no exception.‘). Names allow inferences about binary gender representation: a preference for male names reflects a male bias, while female names suggest a more inclusive interpretation. The study investigates whether indefinite pronouns and role nouns elicit male and female representations equally. For indefinite pronouns, it tests the effects of overt vs. covert gender marking ( jeder vs. jemand ), agreement with a relative pronoun (such as jeder, der ), contextual gender stereotypes of activities (e. g., doing yoga vs. playing poker ), and participant gender. Stereotype strength was operationalized through a prior rating study (Rosar et al. in Vorbereitung). For role nouns, the study replicates and extends Bröder/Rosar (2025) by examining lexical gender bias (e. g., Friseur ‚hairdresser‘ vs. Programmierer ‚programmer‘), contextual gender stereotypes, number, role type (occupational vs. non-occupational), and participant gender. Results show that indefinite pronouns tend to elicit gender-balanced representations in neutral contexts (such as drink coffee, go to a restaurant ), but they strongly reflect stereotypical cues. Grammatical features show minimal effect. In contrast, masculine role nouns in the singular consistently trigger male representations – even in neutral or feminized contexts. This masculine bias can only be overridden when multiple female stereotypes are present. Across both domains, participant gender influenced the choice of names: The results show a consistent own-gender bias, which was stronger for indefinite pronouns than for role nouns.