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In English the male pronoun is the generic and has been for centuries. Every time somebody misuses she/her as the generic I'm knocked into a moment of confusion
by a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
In English the male pronoun is the generic and has been for centuries. Every time somebody misuses she/her as the generic I'm knocked into a moment of confusion wondering who this sudden specific chick is.
Let's cut the crap; when people write she/her/womankind for the generic it's about PC. It's not standard English.
- codr 13y ago> "In English the male pronoun is the generic" Indeed.. and that's the problem. The times, they are a changin!
- mitochondrion 13y agoSorry, but why is that at all a problem?
- argonaut 13y agoThere are no fixed rules in language over time.
- scarecrowbob 13y ago"In English the male pronoun is the generic and has been for centuries. " Well, so has treating women like second class humans, but hopefully we can overcome that, too, no? Languages live... yes it is about acknowledging difference, but so what? "Every time somebody misuses she/her as the generic I'm knocked into a moment of confusion wondering who this sudden specific chick is." I was at the barber in my tiny Texas town today... you should have heard their comments when "his husband" came over the TV audio... they were shocked, too.