2202205            Introduction to English Composition     First Semester 1998

The Writing Process: Language Use

Avoiding Sexist Language

    The way we use language—the choices we make, the emphasis we place—suggests a broad range of personal and community attitudes, conscious and subliminal. . .
    Not so many years ago, readers were content to let the masculine pronouns stand for all humanity.  No longer.  While some traditionalists still prefer the familiar surface of prose uncluttered by the complications to which revision of pronouns leads, a growing majority is no longer willing to accept a discourse that renders females invisible. (Cooper, 9)

    Often we can use a plural noun to which the all-purpose plural pronoun—they, their, them—refers:

Writers need to be aware of their audience when choosing language.
But when the noun we are referring to is singular, we have various choices, many of which may displease some readers:
Each writer must consider the audience when revising his or her [his/her] paper.
First, he/she [she/he, s/he] must decide how much background information the particular audience will need.

First, he must decide how much background information the particular audience will need. [This represents the traditional use of "he" as a reference for both males and females.]

First, she must decide how much background information the particular audience will need. [This choice uses "she" to refer to both males and females.]
 Or we can sometimes drop the pronoun:
Each writer must consider the audience when revising a paper. [A simplification of ". . . when revising his/her paper."]
    Many readers object to the awkwardness that multiple pronouns create in the flow of a sentence.  Others are offended by the implicit sexism of relying exclusively on the third person masculine pronoun [he, him, his].
    Usage is changing, slowly, to allow they/them/their to refer to grammatically singular nouns and particularly to the pronoun "everyone," a practice which has been standard in spoken English.
Everyone should remember to include opposing views in their written arguments.

Almost everyone knows someone, often someone in their own family, who is addicted to drugs.

In the meantime, the point is to be sensitive to the audience and aware of the power of language, while at the same time representing issues and events accurately and observing conventions of written English as closely as possible. (Cooper, 10)

References
Cooper, Sheila and Rosemary Patton.  Ergo: Thinking Critically & Writing Logically.  New York: HarperCollins, 1993.