Semantic Structure and Normative Ratings of Gender-Inclusive Role Nouns: The First Italian Database (GIRN-I)

Finding linguistic alternatives that move beyond the gender binary is increasingly indispensable, especially in languages that enforce gendered categorisations through specific linguistic markers, such as Italian. Indeed, gender-diverse individuals face additional distress associated with perceived invisibility arising from the absence of adequate linguistic forms. To date, substantial research has been devoted to identifying demographic and socio-political factors underlying preferences for gender-inclusive language. However, far less is known about the cognitive mechanisms that underlie these attitudes. Here, we provide the first Italian psycholinguistic database of role nouns (e.g., nurse, carpenter, teacher) encompassing both gendered (i.e., feminine and masculine) and gender-inclusive (i.e., asterisk and schwa) desinences. Remarkably, this is the first contribution explicitly assessing Italian participants’ dispositions towards gender-inclusive desinences. We asked participants to rate role nouns on nine semantic dimensions, including classic dimensions like familiarity and sensibility and less conventional ones like psychological distance and political relevance. Our findings suggest no clear preference for either of the two inclusive alternatives, both of which are perceived as less familiar and less pleasant than their corresponding gendered forms. We suggest that processing components related to linguistic fluency may also contribute to explaining observed preference patterns. Taken together, our findings underscore the importance of considering semantic and linguistic processing factors, alongside ideological and social variables, when investigating attitudes toward gender-inclusive language.