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Most engineers are male, why do you use 'she'? Also it distracts from your other points.
by suivix 15y ago
Most engineers are male, why do you use 'she'? Also it distracts from your other points.
- mkr-hn 15y agoBecause someone would argue the opposite (that engineering needs to be more welcoming to females) if saalweachter used he instead.
- lucisferre 15y agoTechnically in most Latin languages the generic gender is masculine. So it is, in fact, awkward when she is used for the same purpose. Sure it can be used to make a statement "between the lines", but that is what makes it so distracting. Gender inequality in engineering isn't going to be solved by replacing 'he' with 'she'.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- mkr-hn 15y agoOpinion, not fact. It's not awkward to me. And we would be better off if we didn't worry about which word to use.
- d3vani 15y agobetter question is, why do you find it so distracting?
- suivix 15y agoBecause it's like he is trying to advocate feminism in the middle of his other points.
- vonkow 15y agoBy that logic, every time that you use the word "he" when referring to a human of unspecified gender, you're advocating masculinism.
- ontoillogical 15y agoWhile somewhat out of style, "she" is often used as a universal gender neutral pronoun. To me, it's far less distracting to read than "he/she" or "(s)he." I personally prefer the singular "they" as a gender neutral pronoun, but some people think it's improper English. Either way, I don't think that using "she" as a gender neutral pronoun can be considered distracting advocacy of feminism.
- lucisferre 15y agoAs far as I can tell that was never in style. Historically man and he have been used a universal gender neutral pronouns. In most latin languages this is spelled out clearly as proper grammar (e.g., French). In English it has been left ambiguous. That said, one clearly is making the conscious choice to swim against the tide when specifically using 'she' for this purpose, so it's going to distract some people. Though I agree far less than he/she and (s)he. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_neutrality_in_English http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_neutrality_in_English