4 ms·

Whether you find "they" as a third person singular pronoun objectionable, it's not "new"--it goes back to at least Shakespeare (through Austen).

• gbog 15y ago
  I object to: - the idea that changing grammar is a way to fix moral problems. - any barrier, taboo, or artificial distance between what one think and what one write.
  • jarek 15y ago
    I agree - we should get more people to think in singular they, rather than just write.
    • gbog 15y ago
      I don't like this kind of thinking police, sound too 1984ish to me.
      • jarek 15y ago
        Any time you advocate a position you are encouraging people to think in a particular way. I don't think we're at risk of being thought police as long as no one is forced to change what they think.
  • jamesrcole 15y ago
    I wasn't talking about the grammar in what was written, I was talking about the content which implied that the person would be male. any barrier, taboo, or artificial distance between what one think and what one write. How was this case -- implying the person would be male, vs being gender neutral -- a barrier between what one is thinking and what one is writing?