Zuhörerinnen

Zuhörerinnen is a feminine plural noun in German that refers to female listeners or audience members. It is formed from the masculine base Zuhörer with the feminine suffix -innen, so it designates a group consisting of women who listen or attend a performance, speech, broadcast, or event. The corresponding singular is Zuhörerin, and the generic plural for an undifferentiated audience is often still Zuhörer or Zuhörerinnen und Zuhörer when gender is specified.

In usage, Zuhörerinnen appears most often when the gender composition of an audience is being described or emphasized. Examples include event programs, press reports on audiences, or academic texts discussing gender representation in participation. The term can function descriptively or descriptively evaluatively, depending on context, and it is frequently encountered alongside male-inclusive forms or paired with Zuhörerinnen und Zuhörer to cover both women and men.

Inclusive language considerations are common with this noun. To refer to mixed-gender audiences, many style guides recommend using Zuhörerinnen und Zuhörer or the gender-neutral term Publikum or Zuhörerschaft. The choice of phrasing reflects broader discussions about representation and language in public discourse, media, and scholarly writing.

Related terms include Zuhörerschaft (the audience as a collective group), Zuhörer (the general or male-form audience), and the broader concept of Publikum as a synonym for “the audience” in a non-gendered sense. See also gender-inclusive language and audience studies.