3 ms·
It is a common (but not universal[0]) practice in English writing to use either "he" or "she" as a pronoun for a person of unspecified gender to avoid the awkwa
by Hasu 2y ago
It is a common (but not universal[0]) practice in English writing to use either "he" or "she" as a pronoun for a person of unspecified gender to avoid the awkwardness of "they" or "one" or constructions like "he or she". No gender has been specified here, this is a neutral use of "she".
[0] Very few practices in English writing are universal.
- leptons 2y agoI think your entire reasoning is in reverse. Using "she" where no gender needs to be specified is the awkward thing to do, and it's not neutral, it's explicitly designating a female gender. Using "they/them" is far less awkward, the reader doesn't have to have any kind of opinion about the text based on gender associations, making it less awkward.
- Dylan16807 2y agoIt's pretty neutral, and the more people do it the more neutral it becomes. And annoying certain kinds of pedant is a bonus more than anything.
- tsimionescu 2y agoOccasionally, they/them can get more confusing, especially in a story involving multiple people. It can become unclear if you're referring to just one of the people using singular they, or if you are in fact returning to more people using plural they.
- vagrantJin 2y agoI must have missed the bit where gender was relevant to the joke being made.