Pronouns

[mhacdebhandia]

Race is different because you inevitably have regional variations. The 50/50 gender split is universal.

Oh no, now you're biased against single-sex religious communities? Why do you hate convents, David?

 

[GeorgeFields]

I find it hard to believe this thread has gone to four pages. It wouldn't bother me if they used ALL female pronouns. It wouldn't bother me if they used ALL male pronouns.

Two questions to ask yourself.

Why does it bother you?

Does it really matter?

 

[Driddle]

The only thing that matters to me is that the plural "they" pronoun not be used for individuals:

"When the average player is faced with that situation, they tend to use plural pronouns instead of a singular 'he or she' structure. ... And it drives me nuts."

 

[Mark Chance]

Of course, no-one has claimed it is; but I find "a courier stepped in and closed their umbrella" much more logical and pleasant than "a courier stepped in and closed his umbrella", because not all couriers are male and I don't like my language implying that masculinity is the default condition of humanity.

This "debate" hinges largely on a failure to distinguish between implication and inference.