Feminine gender pronoun as a default pronoun for general, neutral third person [on hold]Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun?Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun?Is using “he” for a gender-neutral third-person correct?Gender neutral reflexive pronoun — equivalent to “himself” and “herself”Can the feminine pronouns be gender-neutral?Default gender for pronounsIs there a gender-neutral pronoun?Gender-neutral alternative to “craftsmanship”?Pronoun question: referring to inanimate objects as 'he' or 'she'Why is there still no gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun?Gender neutral noun for brotherhood / sisterhood?
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Feminine gender pronoun as a default pronoun for general, neutral third person [on hold]
Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun?Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun?Is using “he” for a gender-neutral third-person correct?Gender neutral reflexive pronoun — equivalent to “himself” and “herself”Can the feminine pronouns be gender-neutral?Default gender for pronounsIs there a gender-neutral pronoun?Gender-neutral alternative to “craftsmanship”?Pronoun question: referring to inanimate objects as 'he' or 'she'Why is there still no gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun?Gender neutral noun for brotherhood / sisterhood?
I've seen similar topics on the StackExchange but all of them are older than 5 years and it seems that things have changed since then.
It is no longer a niche phenomenon but a stanard that professors at American universities use pronoun she as a default pronoun when relating to general, neutral third person. They are never using the pronoun he and some of them (a small minority) use singular they. It is not only considered a standard, but also a good practice. Professors and other people in Academia deliberately use the feminine pronoun even in situations when it is not necessary - in places where sentences can be easily and conveniently phrased in a way to avoid referring to a particular gender.
What is the reason for that? How does this relate to good practices of the use of the English language?
word-usage grammaticality pronouns gender
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
put on hold as primarily opinion-based by oerkelens, TRomano, sumelic, Jason Bassford, Nigel J 13 mins ago
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
add a comment |
I've seen similar topics on the StackExchange but all of them are older than 5 years and it seems that things have changed since then.
It is no longer a niche phenomenon but a stanard that professors at American universities use pronoun she as a default pronoun when relating to general, neutral third person. They are never using the pronoun he and some of them (a small minority) use singular they. It is not only considered a standard, but also a good practice. Professors and other people in Academia deliberately use the feminine pronoun even in situations when it is not necessary - in places where sentences can be easily and conveniently phrased in a way to avoid referring to a particular gender.
What is the reason for that? How does this relate to good practices of the use of the English language?
word-usage grammaticality pronouns gender
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
put on hold as primarily opinion-based by oerkelens, TRomano, sumelic, Jason Bassford, Nigel J 13 mins ago
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
1
I'd say this has more to do with changing perception of gender-roles in society than with the English language per se. Is there any reason to assume that the reasons listed in, for instance this question and its answers have changed over the last 7 years in a way that relates to language?
– oerkelens
8 hours ago
A significant thing that has changed is that it is currently not only a trend or actions by some individuals motivated by political or philosophical reasons; it is a norm. The language is dynamic at its core so when something becomes a norm, it is not far from becoming a part of the language. How could a changing perception of gender relate to such changes in the language?
– mattwills
8 hours ago
@mattwills The answer is the same, and given in the other question oerkelens linked.
– Dan Bron
7 hours ago
In terms of grammar, it makes just as much sense to use the feminine pronoun as it does to use the masculine. In other words, it's completely arbitrary. Any reason you could give for using one, you could also give for using the other. Politically, they're making a statement by rebelling against the one-sided male pronoun used in the past.
– Jason Bassford
7 hours ago
If they used "he" they would be labeled sexists and male supremacists, so they simply give in to idiotic rules of modern political correctness. I cringe every time I see "she", but sometimes it is good fun when the depicted person is clearly evil.
– Rusty Core
4 hours ago
add a comment |
I've seen similar topics on the StackExchange but all of them are older than 5 years and it seems that things have changed since then.
It is no longer a niche phenomenon but a stanard that professors at American universities use pronoun she as a default pronoun when relating to general, neutral third person. They are never using the pronoun he and some of them (a small minority) use singular they. It is not only considered a standard, but also a good practice. Professors and other people in Academia deliberately use the feminine pronoun even in situations when it is not necessary - in places where sentences can be easily and conveniently phrased in a way to avoid referring to a particular gender.
What is the reason for that? How does this relate to good practices of the use of the English language?
word-usage grammaticality pronouns gender
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I've seen similar topics on the StackExchange but all of them are older than 5 years and it seems that things have changed since then.
It is no longer a niche phenomenon but a stanard that professors at American universities use pronoun she as a default pronoun when relating to general, neutral third person. They are never using the pronoun he and some of them (a small minority) use singular they. It is not only considered a standard, but also a good practice. Professors and other people in Academia deliberately use the feminine pronoun even in situations when it is not necessary - in places where sentences can be easily and conveniently phrased in a way to avoid referring to a particular gender.
What is the reason for that? How does this relate to good practices of the use of the English language?
word-usage grammaticality pronouns gender
word-usage grammaticality pronouns gender
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
asked 8 hours ago
mattwillsmattwills
1
1
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
mattwills is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
put on hold as primarily opinion-based by oerkelens, TRomano, sumelic, Jason Bassford, Nigel J 13 mins ago
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
put on hold as primarily opinion-based by oerkelens, TRomano, sumelic, Jason Bassford, Nigel J 13 mins ago
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
1
I'd say this has more to do with changing perception of gender-roles in society than with the English language per se. Is there any reason to assume that the reasons listed in, for instance this question and its answers have changed over the last 7 years in a way that relates to language?
– oerkelens
8 hours ago
A significant thing that has changed is that it is currently not only a trend or actions by some individuals motivated by political or philosophical reasons; it is a norm. The language is dynamic at its core so when something becomes a norm, it is not far from becoming a part of the language. How could a changing perception of gender relate to such changes in the language?
– mattwills
8 hours ago
@mattwills The answer is the same, and given in the other question oerkelens linked.
– Dan Bron
7 hours ago
In terms of grammar, it makes just as much sense to use the feminine pronoun as it does to use the masculine. In other words, it's completely arbitrary. Any reason you could give for using one, you could also give for using the other. Politically, they're making a statement by rebelling against the one-sided male pronoun used in the past.
– Jason Bassford
7 hours ago
If they used "he" they would be labeled sexists and male supremacists, so they simply give in to idiotic rules of modern political correctness. I cringe every time I see "she", but sometimes it is good fun when the depicted person is clearly evil.
– Rusty Core
4 hours ago
add a comment |
1
I'd say this has more to do with changing perception of gender-roles in society than with the English language per se. Is there any reason to assume that the reasons listed in, for instance this question and its answers have changed over the last 7 years in a way that relates to language?
– oerkelens
8 hours ago
A significant thing that has changed is that it is currently not only a trend or actions by some individuals motivated by political or philosophical reasons; it is a norm. The language is dynamic at its core so when something becomes a norm, it is not far from becoming a part of the language. How could a changing perception of gender relate to such changes in the language?
– mattwills
8 hours ago
@mattwills The answer is the same, and given in the other question oerkelens linked.
– Dan Bron
7 hours ago
In terms of grammar, it makes just as much sense to use the feminine pronoun as it does to use the masculine. In other words, it's completely arbitrary. Any reason you could give for using one, you could also give for using the other. Politically, they're making a statement by rebelling against the one-sided male pronoun used in the past.
– Jason Bassford
7 hours ago
If they used "he" they would be labeled sexists and male supremacists, so they simply give in to idiotic rules of modern political correctness. I cringe every time I see "she", but sometimes it is good fun when the depicted person is clearly evil.
– Rusty Core
4 hours ago
1
1
I'd say this has more to do with changing perception of gender-roles in society than with the English language per se. Is there any reason to assume that the reasons listed in, for instance this question and its answers have changed over the last 7 years in a way that relates to language?
– oerkelens
8 hours ago
I'd say this has more to do with changing perception of gender-roles in society than with the English language per se. Is there any reason to assume that the reasons listed in, for instance this question and its answers have changed over the last 7 years in a way that relates to language?
– oerkelens
8 hours ago
A significant thing that has changed is that it is currently not only a trend or actions by some individuals motivated by political or philosophical reasons; it is a norm. The language is dynamic at its core so when something becomes a norm, it is not far from becoming a part of the language. How could a changing perception of gender relate to such changes in the language?
– mattwills
8 hours ago
A significant thing that has changed is that it is currently not only a trend or actions by some individuals motivated by political or philosophical reasons; it is a norm. The language is dynamic at its core so when something becomes a norm, it is not far from becoming a part of the language. How could a changing perception of gender relate to such changes in the language?
– mattwills
8 hours ago
@mattwills The answer is the same, and given in the other question oerkelens linked.
– Dan Bron
7 hours ago
@mattwills The answer is the same, and given in the other question oerkelens linked.
– Dan Bron
7 hours ago
In terms of grammar, it makes just as much sense to use the feminine pronoun as it does to use the masculine. In other words, it's completely arbitrary. Any reason you could give for using one, you could also give for using the other. Politically, they're making a statement by rebelling against the one-sided male pronoun used in the past.
– Jason Bassford
7 hours ago
In terms of grammar, it makes just as much sense to use the feminine pronoun as it does to use the masculine. In other words, it's completely arbitrary. Any reason you could give for using one, you could also give for using the other. Politically, they're making a statement by rebelling against the one-sided male pronoun used in the past.
– Jason Bassford
7 hours ago
If they used "he" they would be labeled sexists and male supremacists, so they simply give in to idiotic rules of modern political correctness. I cringe every time I see "she", but sometimes it is good fun when the depicted person is clearly evil.
– Rusty Core
4 hours ago
If they used "he" they would be labeled sexists and male supremacists, so they simply give in to idiotic rules of modern political correctness. I cringe every time I see "she", but sometimes it is good fun when the depicted person is clearly evil.
– Rusty Core
4 hours ago
add a comment |
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1
I'd say this has more to do with changing perception of gender-roles in society than with the English language per se. Is there any reason to assume that the reasons listed in, for instance this question and its answers have changed over the last 7 years in a way that relates to language?
– oerkelens
8 hours ago
A significant thing that has changed is that it is currently not only a trend or actions by some individuals motivated by political or philosophical reasons; it is a norm. The language is dynamic at its core so when something becomes a norm, it is not far from becoming a part of the language. How could a changing perception of gender relate to such changes in the language?
– mattwills
8 hours ago
@mattwills The answer is the same, and given in the other question oerkelens linked.
– Dan Bron
7 hours ago
In terms of grammar, it makes just as much sense to use the feminine pronoun as it does to use the masculine. In other words, it's completely arbitrary. Any reason you could give for using one, you could also give for using the other. Politically, they're making a statement by rebelling against the one-sided male pronoun used in the past.
– Jason Bassford
7 hours ago
If they used "he" they would be labeled sexists and male supremacists, so they simply give in to idiotic rules of modern political correctness. I cringe every time I see "she", but sometimes it is good fun when the depicted person is clearly evil.
– Rusty Core
4 hours ago