Gender-neutral pronouns

[aeolian]

I'm sorry, but I find writing and reading "he/she" and "him or her" all over the place to be tedious. Now and then, it's all right, but when an entire article has every pronoun suddenly becoming two and three syllables long, it just does not flow very well. You know, the dying art of rhetoric, and all that. I know that it makes me a caveman, but I still use "he" and the other masculine pronouns as the gender-neutral, only because it's concise and sounds better.

I'll use "they" or "them" informally, but not for formal writing, not until the language changes a little more and it becomes accepted as standard practice. "It" just seems rude when referring to gendered things. "One" is useful, if one can finagle the syntax properly.

If someone comes up with some good, gender-neutral pronouns, I'll gladly use them.

So what do you use for gender-neutral stuff? Got any great ideas for new pronouns? Am I an unwitting pawn of the masculinist agenda? Will this thread sink like a stone?

[liontamer]

1. i use the plural

unless I can't in which case I use "he or she". It is always easier to ignore one class of people, but that doesn't make it right. Even if it is just in writing.

[aeolian]

9. Whew, good,

I was worried that I might not be oppressing anyone. Glad that's cleared up. Hey, I'm a white guy, it's what we do!

[aden_nak]

2. Sometimes I use "one" but normally I use the masculine. But for a reason.

And it has nothing to do with which gender is dominant in our culture. It has to do with the origins of our language. The word "man" is used to denote both a male person and the race of homosapiens. In fact, by the very definition, the very ORIGINAL definition of "man", all homosapiens are men. The word "woman" is a contrivance of "womb" and "man". Literally, "woman" means "a man with a womb".

So it's literally a subset of a larger group. Just as all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares, all women are men, but not all men are women. Of course, common use has changed these definitions. . . but fuck common use.

[Samurai_Writer]

3. They is totally acceptable

I'm an editor for a large medical company. The industry now accepts 'they' instead of 'he or she', although it is not the 'standard' yet. *hint* NEVER use a slash like he/she.

When all else fails, get a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style. If you are writing software documentation, Microsoft's Manual of Style comes in handy, too.

[aeolian]

4. Yep, I was right, sinking like a stone!

:) Gotta love my threads :toast:

c'mon, seven responses is not statistically signifigant! And no suggestions for new pronouns?

How 'bout "ze" and "zer"?

[JVS]

5. I use he. It would be fine. They is inappropriate as it disagrees in...

number

[yardwork]

6. "They" was correct for hundreds of years

The Victorians eliminated "they" because they wanted to push forward the "he."

Use "they." It was and is correct.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Didn't know that! Knew that ain't is a real word and can use it correctly

Seriously, I ain't kidding.

[Telly Savalas]

7. One approach I've seen in longer works...

is to randomly alternate between the male and female pronouns. Or I've seen a parenting book where it alternates between chapters.

[aeolian]

8. I've seen that, too,

and I think it's a good compromise.

[Telly Savalas]

13. I like it too.

But it's hard to work into a nice terse personal attack in a GD flamewar which might only use one personal pronoun.

[Bridget Burke]

10. It varies.

They, He or He and She, depending on the context. All of these options are fairly standard English usage. (& if I'm documenting something, "the User" works fine!)

One peeve: Chicano/a used to refer to--say--"Chicano/a art." It's neither good English nor good Spanish. As a Spanish adjective, Chicano would match the gender & number of the noun it is modifying. Referring to a group of people, "Chicanos" is correct; if you know Spanish, you would know the word includes both Chicanos & Chicanas.

Not relevant but interesting: "Chick" is often regarded as a bit sexist. But it probably derives from the Spanish "chica." However, since Spanish has gender, it also has the word "chico"--that is, "male chick." (It sounds better in Spanish.)

[aeolian]

11. Yeah, good point, what DO spanish speakers think of "ellos?"

Does the same problem exist, or do they just sip sangria and not care?

What of the other romance languages, for that matter...

[Deep13]

14. "he or she" etc. the first time a subject is referenced,...

... then masculine pronouns for the remaining discussion. That is unless the subject matter is clearly feminine or plural.

A person ought to be able to take an acid trip if he or she wants to do so. After all, a person can do what he wants with his own body.

A person ought to be able to have an abortion if she wants to get one.

Boston ought to be able to secede from the Union if it wants to do so. Bostonians should be free if they want.