TIP: Don't assume pronouns (DBO)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Thursday, July 24, 2014, 10:55 (3572 days ago) @ ncsuDuncan

You are correct, Cody, but most newer style guides at least mention that it is perceived by many readers as sexist and because of this suggest you rewrite the sentence to avoid the issue. It rarely comes up in my professional writing, and there are cases where I think it's a tough call. The awkwardness of writing around it is more disruptive than using the masculine pronoun, but then it's a case of pick your poison. Which readers are you willing to lose?

Heh, this is actually something I've struggled with many times, especially when I post community-created content to the DBO front page (or Twitter feed) and don't know the gender behind the user name. Sometimes a Twitter bio or DeviantArt profile will reveal the gender, but I never assume unless it's blindingly obvious.

I usually just rewrite the sentence to eliminate pronouns and call it a day. :P

That's a good approach. Where I differ from Cody's strict interpretation is if you are talking about an actual person, it's best to ask if you can, or rewrite to avoid the issue. "Maybe he or she is a geologist" would have been easy enough to type or read. The usage I was kind of/sort of defending was when you're referring to a hypothetical individual. It was a loss for elegance when using "he" was deemed problematic.