Re: Escaping gender usage (was RE: Pet Peeves)

["Suzette Leeming" <suzette -dot- leeming -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I try to avoid using "you" (too informal) or "user" (too impersonal).

I would change the sentence structure to something like this:

"When a hard drive is formatted, all of the data on it is lost."

I avoid all gender issues this way.

Suzette Leeming
Stouffville, Ontario



On 3/15/07, Chris Borokowski <athloi -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> I've been breaking the first-grade diction rule and
> writing it in the first person.
>
> "When a user formats a hard disk, all of his data will
> be gone."
>
> "When you format your hard disk, all of your data will
> be gone."
>
> Can't please everyone, and don't like the witch-hunt
> mentality (not all witches are female), but also want
> my users to get the point without them worrying about
> these boring issues.
>
> I can't tell you that you'll burn in hell for being
> insensitive, since not only do I not believe it, but
> "hell" isn't shared among all religions. I know I'm
> going to burn in some religiously neutral symbolic
> place of all suffering, so I'd welcome the company.
>
> --- "Brierley, Sean" <Sean -dot- Brierley -at- ipc -dot- com> wrote:
> > Actually, it doesn't bother me, personally, that
> > when the gender is
> > unknown, English defaults to the masculine. However,
> > I understand that's
> > an issue. Similarly, assuming gender roles, like
> > nurse being female, is
> > also apparently insulting. I guess I'm insensitive.
>
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