He,she,or they.

[RICANRICAN]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

I agree, unless penalties start to become attached to language.

Just like in cali!!

[ChrisC]

I'm a big proponent of "it."

Hey, here comes Janet, and it is carrying a bottle of wine. John bought a bottle of that yesterday and it told me that particular brand was the best it'd ever tasted.


If we are all so embarrassed that we are male or female, "it" solves the problem of "he" and "she," does it not?

[Clarallel]

I'm amused at the "they" option.

I can just envision a guy asking a girl out on a date: "Would they like to go out sometime?"

[Kracer]

Originally Posted by RedZin

Is it such a hardship to call people whatever they want to be called?

Is it really that much of a burden to you?

I mean, if it is, just don't use pronouns for those people at all.

Problem solved.

yes it is a burden!


Let the pronoun obsessive carry the burden.


I draw the line at Sue, susan, suzzanne, suzon, Susie.


Who wants to be around or work with someone who defies normal social convention and pronoun usage.


Would never hire a creature so sensitive, nothing but trouble. clearly not capable of socializing, lawsuits etc. Stay away, far away.

[silverhead]

Originally Posted by ChrisC

I'm a big proponent of "it."

Hey, here comes Janet, and it is carrying a bottle of wine. John bought a bottle of that yesterday and it told me that particular brand was the best it'd ever tasted.


If we are all so embarrassed that we are male or female, "it" solves the problem of "he" and "she," does it not?

That's the one "IT".

[RedZin]

Originally Posted by Kracer

yes it is a burden!


Let the pronoun obsessive carry the burden.


I draw the line at Sue, susan, suzzanne, suzon, Susie.


Who wants to be around or work with someone who defies normal social convention and pronoun usage.


Would never hire a creature so sensitive, nothing but trouble. clearly not capable of socializing, lawsuits etc. Stay away, far away.

I do understand how it can be tough to call a person "they."

But, calling someone "he" or "she" when they have identified themselves to you as such... why is that a problem?

Should be pretty simple. Your new colleague walks in and says "Hi, my name is Brian." You think Brian looks like a woman, so you call Brian "she." Brian later tells you "hey, that's "he."

So... do you call Brian "he?" I mean, I would because it's pretty easy to refer to a person as "he" or "she."

I don't care what's in their underwear or on their birth certificate. I'm just working with them, not studying them for a scientific journal.

People who prefer "they" are a bit tricky. It's hard to refer to a person as "they" without practice. I know a few people who use "they" and I struggle with it. Because it's a stumbling block in the typical flow of the English language unless you're referring to a group of people.

Most people I know who go by "they" are not offended if you slip up and use "he" or "she."

They are offended when you flatly refuse to use "they" and deliberately use "he" or "she."

You can just call them by their name.

Instead of using "they" to refer to "Taylor" you can just use "Taylor."

See? No problem.