From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Newsgroups: soc.college
Subject: Re: Sexist language
Date: 16 Dec 92 11:59:14 GMT
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK

In article <101955@netnews.upenn.edu> pezzillo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Amy J. Pezzillo) writes:
>In article <1992Dec14.163456.9037@hobbes.kzoo.edu> k044477@hobbes.kzoo.edu (Jamie R. McCarthy) writes:
>>Because, after all, the use of the third person plural as an ersatz
>>third person neuter singular is ungrammatical, right?  And
>>awkward-sounding besides, right?
>
>But infinitely preferable to hearing "he" used all the time.

Preferability is in the ear of the hearkener.  There seem to be
reasons to believe that both gender-neutral "he" and singular "they"
belong naturally into the English language, having coexisted for
several centuries, so using either of them is acceptable.
(Which means that you are both wrong.)

>>And, as we all know, there's nothing sexist about someone writing "he"
>>in place of "he or she."

So far, so good, except that we don't all know this.  There are some
who don't, or rather pretend not to.

>>People who have to resort to artificial,
>>politically correct non-words like "first-year" and the singular "they"
>>are uneducated malcontents with nothing to do, and they're making up
>>problems where none exist.
>>
>>Right?
>
>WRONG!!!!!

Wrong, in so far as singular "they" is not a politically correct
artifact, although it is hardly surprising that it is frequently
treated as if it were one, because of its marketing.

>He *is * sexist when used to denote both genders, because
>it indicates only ONE -- the male.

Wrong.

>Seriously, when you hear "he," do you EVER  think of a woman?  NO!!!

Switching to shouting and using three exclamation marks where one (or
indeed a full stop) would have sufficed works wonders for your argument.
It so happens that for many native speakers gender-neutral "he" is an
integral part of the English language.

>Consider the following statement:
>"Every person is entitled to his right to have an abortion."  You
>thought that sounded strange, because "he" automatically brought up
>the image of men.

Yes.  The use of gender-neutral "he" sounds strange, because the
referent is _a` priori_ female, so it ought to have been "Every woman
is entitled to her right to have an abortion."  Try again.

>The only reason that "he" was ever
>accepted as denoting everyone was because males USED to be in charge.

What evidence is there for this?  What was the gender-neutral pronoun
in Old English?  Proto-Germanic?  Proto-Indoeuropean?  Nostratic?
What is the gender-neutral pronoun in languages spoken by societies
where women are in charge?  Who is in charge in those few societies
which use languages with gender-neutral `she'?

I suggest you take the first 'plane to Iran.  They speak a non-"sexist"
(can't use this meaningless word without double quotes) language there,
with only one word for both `he' and `she', and quite predictably they
treat women exactly as some of them deserve.

>Well, no more baby.
               ****

Is this the regular form for addressing male strangers in Feminese?

>So we're
>using TRULY gender neutral terms wherever possible, "she or he" where
>appropriate, and just plain old "she" once in a while to shake you all up.

Now I can't wait to hear from R Lustig, D Johns and some other netters,
who get horribly upset lest someone should try to "modify" English by
shunning singular "they", which is a natural part of the language, has
been around since Shakespeare and what not, and yet are very quiet
when someone expresses the desire to shun the equally natural gender-
neutral "he" or to introduce some artifact such as gender-neutral "she"
or some arbitrary string of letters.

>And you know what?  I don't CARE if you don't like hearing it.

Oh, of course not.  You're just trying to be obnoxious.
Well, go ahead.  You're doing a good job.

-- 
 `D'ye mind tellin me whit the two o ye are gaun oan aboot?' (The Glasgow
Ivan A Derzhanski  (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk; iad@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu)    Gospel)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,  Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
Newsgroups: soc.college,alt.usage.english