Embrace the singular they!
Occasionally it strikes me how often ordinary sentences indicate the gender of people we discuss. It’s nearly impossible to avoid it even in cases where the person is an abstract idea rather than an actual person with a gender as in “An astronaut depends on his spacesuit.”
English’s lack of un-gendered pronouns has caused plenty of stress for people who want to be sensitive to both men and women. The dilemma has led to some neologistic acrobatics. As far as I’m aware, these are the major proposals:
- Use she for everything
- Alternate using he and she
- Use s/he or (s)he
- Use his or her
- Use shhe, xie, zi or hir
- Use they
A recent New York Times article discusses the controversy and takes a position I favor: Embrace the singular they!
For papers and longer articles I’m fine with alternating he and she or just using she for everything. The singular they proposal has two other nice perks that I think make it the best way to choose. First, historically they was actually a universal pronoun; the Times suggests that the usage of the universal he came aboutin the early 1700s.
Second, the singular they lets us be ambiguous in cases where there is actually a correct answer. If I’m telling someone about “a friend” of mine but don’t want to share details (for convenience) I’d prefer to refer to that friend as “they” than reveal their gender. Programs that involve alternating he and she or using she for everything don’t help me solve this case.
The Times writes that “Byron, Austen, Thackeray, Eliot, Dickens, Trollope and more” have used the singular they. I will happily join that club.
