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Gender specific pronouns

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Gender specific pronouns
Post by Laz48   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:20 am

Laz48
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First off, I apologize if this has been done to death. At least I'm not bringing up <shudder> the dreaded grav lance topic.

Has anyone ever noticed that a person always uses their gender's pronoun. Honor will say something about a non-specific person with 'she' or 'her' while Hamiish would use 'he' or 'him'.

It doesn't feel pointed or sexist when they are saying it. It just seems like that is the conversation style.

My question: is this intentional by RFC to show gender equality? It sometimes feels forced. I would have thought, in a gender neutral society, non-gender specific descriptions would be used, such as they, them, etc.

Now I can sit back and see myself get skewered on this tiopic. My work is done.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by MuonNeutrino   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:47 am

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I personally think this is exactly what you said - a conscious choice by RFC to show gender equality. Myself, I barely notice them anymore - they stuck out a bit at first, but now I'm used to him doing that and they just pass by without me even really being aware that he's doing that. They don't really feel forced, to me.

As for why he does that rather than using they/them/etc, my guess would probably be because the use of the singular 'they' specifically as a gender neutral pronoun still isn't always universally accepted. Either that or he wants to call the reader's attention to what he's doing as a way to reinforce the gender neutrality aspect, which it certainly does.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by Meshakhad   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:29 pm

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I've noticed it. I personally like it.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by roseandheather   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:09 pm

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As a woman who is sick unto death of being the exception rather than the default, I would like to give a massive salute to RFC for doing this. It was a bit jarring for me too at first, but now it just seems normal.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by Hutch   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:23 pm

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Meshakhad wrote:I've noticed it. I personally like it.



As do I.

Of course, RFC did try to come up with a combination-word of "she", "he" and "it", but found that the term was already taken.... 8-) :twisted:
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by SWM   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:24 pm

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They/them gets confusing if you are trying to distinguish references to a single person from references to multiple people. I prefer singular pronouns when you are speaking of singular persons.

I think I did notice it a long time ago, but I stopped noticing quickly. I don't find it unusual; I see lots of people (though I can't say most) trying to be more equitable in non-specific pronoun gender. I try to do it myself, but don't always remember.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by GlynnStewart   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:36 pm

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Meshakhad wrote:I've noticed it. I personally like it.


Agreed!

It's a refreshing change from both the author and characters assuming any unspecified person is male.

And 'they' or 'it' just seems weird.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by John Prigent   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:40 pm

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It seems perfectly natural to me but I spent years in an office environment where the women spoke that way, using 'she' for a person whose sex they didn't know.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by Laz48   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:23 pm

Laz48
Lieutenant (Junior Grade)

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Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:02 pm

Thanks for everyone's input. I was expecting a scolding for either criticizing RFC, which was not intended, or worse yet, rehashing a topic that has been done to death.

Nice to see I wasn't the only one who noticed. I tend to agree, the style was intentional. It just struck me as a very original way to promote gender equality. Also, I defiinately agree with the point that they/them can be very confusing.
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Re: Gender specific pronouns
Post by JohnRoth   » Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:17 pm

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IIRC, it was a deliberate choice. He also considered using one of the several dozen gender-neutral pronouns that have been proposed and have been lurking around the fringe for a while, but decided it was a step too far.
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