Le roi des cons: quand la langue française fait mal aux femmes by Florence Montreynaud (review)

Encouraging a more gender-inclusive French by exposing the underlying sexism in many present-day expressions and turns of phrase—that is the goal of Le roi des cons, a volume which more than lives up to its provocative title. Inspired by the author's nearly fifty-year engagement in the feminist movement and the bureaucratic resistance in France to the adoption of female professional terms and inclusive writing practices, this tome serves as France's much-needed invitation to the inclusive language party, albeit one that is long overdue, considering Quebec's treatment of the issue back in 1979. The work begins with its origin story—in a meeting, the author watches a nonnative French speaker struggle to make sense of the phrase elle s'estfait violer "she was raped," literally "she made herself to be raped." Contemplating and eventually rejecting the grammatical causativity of the expression, Montreynaud sets to work to systematically identify other sex-based linguistic injustices in the French language and propose and innovate judicious alternatives. The result is a book divided in five sections, each qualifying a different theme where sexist undertones proliferate in the discourse: Sexuality and Language; From Violence to Rape; Girls, Wives, Mothers; Women's Voices; The Human Race. The structure within each section repeats: each word or expression is developed in a two-page spread which culminates in the proposal of one or more less sexist equivalents. For instance, readers are encouraged to abandon the term GPA, acronym for gestation pour autrui in favor of the neologism location de ventre. Montreynaud prefers the neologism to avoid the administrative feel of acronyms and resulting banalization of the act's intimacy, alongside the existence of the Spanish calque vientres de alquiler ("bellies for rent"). The book winds down with a final call to arms—an explanation of the raw power imbued in every word we choose to use—then concludes in a Plutôt que X, dites Y list-style summary of each term treated in the volume. Though the discussion is varied, one message is clear: while the mentalities surrounding the treatment of women have rapidly evolved over the last century, the mechanics of the code we use to interact have not always kept up. Montreynaud contends that these reconsiderations of human treatment should be extended to the level of community language, as a means to both galvanize and reinforce the process. As such, the value of this text for French users and educators is considerable. The two-page entries are accessible and culturally relevant, a much-needed antidote to the oft-cited "masculine trumps feminine" adage gratuitously doled out during early grammar lessons. More expert users will delight in the etymological backstories, historical motivations, and literary references adorning each discussion. Released on the tails of the #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc movements, this book arrives at just the right moment to sensitize French users to the inherent biases of the language and jolt the Francophone community as a whole into imminent and inclusive linguistic action.