RE: Writing nonsexistly <g> (Was: Pronouns with User)

Subject: RE: Writing nonsexistly <g> (Was: Pronouns with User)
From: "Jane Carnall" <jane -dot- carnall -at- digitalbridges -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 16:58:52 +0100

-Keith Cronin, who thinks that nobody should worry his or her pretty
little head (or is it _their_ head, or maybe their _heads_?) about
nitpicky grammatical stuff...

<g> "Nobody should worry their pretty little head about nitpicky grammatical
stuff..."

Keith Cronin wrote, to Geoff Hart: <<Your take on "their" is interesting -
that's the first time I've heard of any "official" approval of the custom,
whereas I've heard a LOT of equally official condemnation of the practice.>>
.... <<I personally don't mind it; it's conversationally accurate, and it
solves a lot of problems. But I still don't feel comfortable using it in
business writing.>>

And rightly so. I am (as an earlier post will indicate, should it ever show
up on the Techwr-L server) entirely in favour of non-sexist writing, as it
is more accurate and less sloppy, as well as more polite. But Geoff's
reasoning why everyone should strive to write non-sexistly, to avoid
offending at minimum 25% of your audience, applies equally to use of the
singular "their": it *is* grammatically acceptable, you *will* find
respectable historical antecedents... yet, in formal technical writing, I
would try to avoid it, because there will always be some people to whom it
is offensive. (I avoid splitting infinitives for the same reason - not that
there's anything wrong with it, but that some people believe strongly that
*is*.)

Jane Carnall
Technical Writer, Digital Bridges, Scotland
Unless stated otherwise, these opinions are mine, and mine alone.


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