By the power vested in me...
Okay, folks. Enough is enough. I am invoking my powers as an English major. For far too long, we've had to put up with awkward constructions when speaking about an undefined, gender-neutral third person. In speaking, we say, "He/she" or "him or her". In writing, we have the abbreviated but still obnoxious, "s/he". Well, screw that crap. It's time we get a gender-neutral pronoun like the rest of the world.
The good news is, we already have one -- "They". Now, I know what you're thinking -- that "they" is plural. Well, guess what? Now it's gonna be singular, too. That's what I'm gonna do for you fine people. Everybody already uses "they" that way, anyway, why not just make it official?
So, by the power vested in me, by virtue of my over-priced and under-used Ivy League diploma, I hereby declare "they" and "them" to be gender-neutral singular third-person pronouns. Go in peace. And if you should pass by a fellow English-speaker on the street, tell them the good news. They will thank you for it.
posted by Dgcopter @ 3:04 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
There's a totally exhaustive FAQ about gender-neutral pronouns. And they put forth some decent arguments about why using they/them leads to ambiguous cases.
It also outlines a number of new words that have been introduced to serve as the english gender neutral pronoun.
I don't think this thing's getting settled anytime soon.
If any one person of indeterminate gender tries to solve this problem, then they is in for trouble. I kinda like a singular they.
See, I still think you could've said "they are" in that sentence, even though it's singular. My whole thing is -- people already use "they" as a gender-neutral pronoun. So why not go with how people actually talk instead of inventing some artifical new pronoun?
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