Meryl's Notes Blog
Things wordy, geeky, and webbyHe or She Annoys Me
Monday, August 22nd, 2005 at 7:45 AM | 2 commentsWhen you’re typing a paragraph and refer to a single person, what do you do when you need to mention “he,” “she,” “hers,” or “his?” Many people use “theirs.” That is wrong, wrong, wrong. Some use “he or she,” which is almost as annoying as “theirs.”
My approach is to pick one and stick with it. I take turns between the genders. “He” this time, “she” next time. Or if the person referred to is stereotypically male, then I’ll use the female version instead. For example, a tech support person is often a male (the proof comes through Paul interviewing people for his team — he gets about one female for every 10 males).
Sure, you can try working around it so you don’t use either word while avoiding “their” unless you changed the sentence to use plural.
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2 comments
I read one book where the author stated his policy at the outset. In odd numbered chapters he would use “he/him”, and in even numbered chapters he would use “she/her” (or perhaps it was vice versa). Anyway, it was equitable, you knew where you stood and I liked it.
Should I ever write the book that has been in the back of my mind for the last 8 years I will adopt a similar convention.
I agree, Andy. I did this very thing within a book review … first time was she and second was he. One slashdotter noticed and thought negative of it as I gave the she a manager job and the he a developer job. Ah, can’t win.
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