Gender equality is one of the touchstones of our time. It’s what tells us we belong to a genuinely tolerant society where diversity is not just honoured but celebrated. Despite the long sea-faring tradition, this means that boats must apparently no longer be referred to as ‘she’ as female boats are not gender neutral and so are unacceptable nowadays.
Presumably, banknotes are the same and reflect a similar gender neutrality? Somehow, I’ve always assumed they’re hermaphroditic. But it turns out they’re not. Money is, but banknotes are not. Banknotes are overwhelmingly male.
In French, the word ‘money’ translates into ‘l’argent’. No clue as to gender there. Money is gender-free. But the word for ‘small-change’ i.e coins is ‘le monnai’. Masculine. If coins were feminine, they would be ‘la monnai’. The word ‘banknote’ translates into ‘le note banquaire’, also masculine. It’s the same in Spanish. Banknotes are male.
Banknotes are also male in another sense: Based on research conducted in 2017 by the Social Media Agency on 100-denomination banknotes currently circulating in all 195 countries of the world, 609 people are represented, of which only 51 – less than 10 percent – are women. Most are dead.
The good news is that, for the first time — and not without controversy — the new 2019 US $20 bill will feature a woman. The new £50 note due to enter circulation in the UK in 2021, however, features Alan Turing, another man. But at least he was eventually forgiven by the British establishment for being gay. In this 50th Anniversary week of the Apollo Moon Landing, ‘One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.’