letterbrij.nl

About this site

Letterbrij.nl ('alphabet soup') is about the words of the gender debate. To understand the debate you have to understand its language: where 'gender' comes from, who coined 'cisgender', how 'gender-affirming care' became a euphemism, who decides whether a neopronoun counts, and how the acronym grew from LGBT to LGBTQIA+. The site describes this lexicographically and historically, with first attestations, dictionary entries and style-guide decisions as sources.

What you will find on letterbrij.nl

• Semantic shift: words whose meaning tipped, from gender to woman
• Euphemisms and framing: how softening language steers the debate, and what neutral wording would look like
• New words: cisgender, non-binary, deadnaming, misgendering and the Dutch neopronouns
• Language rules and institutions: Van Dale, the Dutch Language Union, the ANP news agency and government as referees
• The alphabet soup: the history of the acronym and the tensions within it

The tone is language-critical and sober: about words, not people. Every article ends with a sources block. The site is in Dutch.

Part of the gender network

letterbrij.nl is one of more than forty specialist sites in the Dutch-language gender network of Stichting Genderinfo i.o. Every site in the network covers one subject in depth: from science and medical facts to care, legislation, the public debate and support for specific audiences. That way you always find the site that answers your question most sharply. Note: most network sites are in Dutch.

Explore further: browse the category broad overviews, science and medical context, care and policy, society and debate or community and audiences — or go to the full network overview and the external resources beyond the network.