In late 2025, Quebec banned the use of gender-inclusive language in all government communications written in French. With the recent election of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon of the minority Parti Québécois (PQ) who has supported this exclusionary measure, it is now more important than ever to be conscious of how language serves LGBTQ+ communities.
Specific language has always allowed queer communities to avoid hostile attention and identify themselves to one another — in Montreal during the 1980s, for example, a group of lesbian women would picnic in the Plateau under a banner labelled the “spinsters’ circle” (cercle des vieilles filles) in order to escape unwanted scrutiny. The language used by queer people, often marked by double entendres and subtle subversions, came to develop a tenacious ability to subvert harmful intentions. Even the term ‘queer’ itself, originally a derogatory label meaning ‘strange’ was eventually reclaimed and absorbed into the community’s lexicon.
Today, the topic of queer language (such as gender-neutral pronouns) sparks endless debate and culture-war skirmishes; however, what these ideological frays obscure is the significance of accurate representation to individual identity. Pronouns in particular have inherent personal meaning: they are increasingly being used to indicate not only how someone views themselves but also how they wish to be perceived by others. The growing importance of pronouns in describing queer identities makes Quebec’s exclusion of gender-inclusive language in government communications all the
more distressing.
The use of ‘queer’ as an activist term began in the 1990s. Tyler D. Harvey, a PhD student at the Yale School of Public Health, calls the label a “political identity rooted in demands for equality and liberation for [the] community.” To be openly queer is to resist a system that suppresses your identity. The free expression of this identity, therefore, is itself an act of radical defiance. For many Gen-Z members of the LGBTQ+ community, queer appellatives are “not just a matter of communication […] but also educate and influences society as a whole, despite pushback from those in power,” writes English undergraduate student Kayci Resende-Abbott of Suffolk University.
Supposedly justified under the banner of ‘protecting the French language,’ Quebec’s ban of inclusive language in French government communications ultimately denies the identity of gender nonconforming members of Quebec’s queer community. According to Victoria Legault, the executive director of Aide aux Trans du Québec, this restriction excludes those who use the pronoun iel from participation in public life.
Even Jean-François Roberge — the former language minister responsible for this policy — accepts that “[p]eople are gender-fluid. They are who they are, they are who they want to be.” However, by instating this legislation, he has established a precedent of harming and invalidating the very community which he allegedly supports. Although Roberge claims that “we want people to be happy,” his actions tell a different story. In the realm of healthcare, for example, the lack of gender inclusive ianguage has been suggested to deter members of the LGBTQ+ community from seeking care when needed.
This Queer History Month, The McGill Daily’s editorial board reaffirms our commitment to using language that respects the identities of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. Queer individuals deserve to be faithfully recognized and represented by the new PQ government. The following sources and organizations provide useful information on respectful terms and language:
University of Michigan Spectrum Center
McGill’s guide to gender-inclusive language
Glossary of Queer terms
Queer Speak en Français
LGBTIQA+ Multilingual Terminology
Aide aux Trans du Québec