RE: On Avoiding Gender Bias

["Carey Jennifer (Cry)" <jennifer -dot- carey -at- cdi -dot- cerberus -dot- ch>]

I'm sure I'm asking for it here, and hopefully the PC (that's "Politically
Correct") police won't come to arrest me, BUT, while I'm a pro-woman woman,
I still prefer to read with the general use of "he", cause it's what I'm
used to and "she" distracts me almost every time to the point of irritation.
I find that "he" is like a  transparent gender-neutral figure in my mind
while "she" is very much a woman (but NOT me since it's third person) doing
everything being described and I don't want to think about her.

I've started to notice the style of ping-ponging between gender to balance
it out in recent literature and I appreciated what the author is trying to
do, but i still find it distracting.  Perhaps if I had been raised with
"she" and "her" it wouldn't have the same annoying effect since I'd be used
to it, and I suppose that we need to consider that in the choices that we
make as writers - whether we want to change the norms for future generations
or not, which audience we want to write for, etc., etc.,. 

But nothing irks me more than sentences that are awkward and unclear in
their dance around the inevitable - the fact that we're talking about a
single person performing a task. I don't care what the official books say,
it's a pain to read and even more of a pain to write.

SO, MY opinion (and probably that of few others):
1) HE!
2) Gender Ping-Ping

Jennifer

-----Original Message-----
From: AnilaA -at- ibsplc -dot- com [mailto:AnilaA -at- ibsplc -dot- com]
Sent: giovedì 13 dicembre 2001 10.17
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: On Avoiding Gender Bias


Hi

I have often read that one should avoid gender bias in writing. This
would imply the avoidance of "he" and "she".  I have also read that
the usage of "he/she" is not really acceptable. Do you agree with this
view?
"The team member who uses this tool will be given the required
guidance whenever he/she........"

One of the ways of avoiding this would be to 'pluralise' the subject.
("The team members who use this tool will be given the required
guidance whenever they ........"). But this may not be possible in all
cases, especially when you intend to refer to only ONE person.

Another way could be by using the neutral "one".
One who uses this tool will be given the required guidance whenever
one ......".

I wonder whether it is ALWAYS possible to remain gender neutral and at
the same time, not sound strange. I have often come across sentences
(mostly with 'he') which look fine...and yet I have tried to forcibly
bring in gender neutrality, sometimes with success and sometimes
resulting in clumsy sentences.
Which one of the following would you prefer?

   Anyone who wishes to avail of this facility should bring his ID
   card.......
   Anyone who wishes to avail of this facility should bring his/her ID
   card.......
   All who wish to avail of this facility should bring their ID
   cards.......
   One who wishes to avail of this facility should bring one's ID
   card.......

(While I am still on the topic... here is another doubt that has been
assailing me ever since I came across a sentence on the Internet.-:
Don't the pronouns for the words "anyone" & "everyone" have to be
singular?
Isn't  it incorrect to say "Anyone/Everyone  who wishes to to avail of
this facility
should bring their ...........")

Could I please have your views/suggestions on this?

Thanks in advance!!!

Anila


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