Jess Mahler on Nostr: #EngenderedWriting 19 — Do you use they / them / their / theirs (or it / its) ...
#EngenderedWriting 19 — Do you use they / them / their / theirs (or it / its) instead of the generic gender him / his? How do you feel about how it reads? Does pronoun choice telegraph a message, or it transparent?
I usually use they/them for a generic single third-person pronoun. I like how it reads and I think it flows well in most cases.
All word choices telegraph a message. Most of the time these messages are neutral or benign, like using 'said' vs 'spoke' or writing in past vs present tense. It may affect the feel or tone of the story, but the message doesn't have any inherent weight to it.
In today's English-speaking societies the generic pronoun choice also telegraphs a message, but this message is one that has weight -- it carries meaning outside the story. It doesn't have to, it's not inherent in the message, but it's about the way our society views (is fighting over) use of pronouns.
Personally, I think the folks fighting against they/them make too much of it. They often use the singular 'they' without realizing it in daily speech, it's not a new convention but has been around since Chaucer, and it avoids embedded gendered assumptions in our words. None of these are bad things and none of them (should be) earthshaking.
But people will people.
I usually use they/them for a generic single third-person pronoun. I like how it reads and I think it flows well in most cases.
All word choices telegraph a message. Most of the time these messages are neutral or benign, like using 'said' vs 'spoke' or writing in past vs present tense. It may affect the feel or tone of the story, but the message doesn't have any inherent weight to it.
In today's English-speaking societies the generic pronoun choice also telegraphs a message, but this message is one that has weight -- it carries meaning outside the story. It doesn't have to, it's not inherent in the message, but it's about the way our society views (is fighting over) use of pronouns.
Personally, I think the folks fighting against they/them make too much of it. They often use the singular 'they' without realizing it in daily speech, it's not a new convention but has been around since Chaucer, and it avoids embedded gendered assumptions in our words. None of these are bad things and none of them (should be) earthshaking.
But people will people.