A few weeks ago, I received an email from a Quest University student requesting a correction around my use of pronouns for a couple of fellow students in a story.
I had referred to the person who uses a name associated with males as “he,” although this person identifies as a trans female, i.e. “she.” I had identified another person as female, although the person is now using the third-person singular, “they,” which some LGBTQ+ people do so as not to identify as female or male.
The unspecified third-person singular is particularly tricky. Whether we use “he,” “she” or the truly exhausting “he or she,” something seems off. Recently, some have adopted “they.”
I recall reading The Washington Post has even adopted this. The counter-argument, of course, is that “they” is for third-person plurals only.
All of this underscores the evolutionary nature of the English tongue and its idiosyncrasies. How, after all this time, has the language not come up with an unspecified, third-person singular not tied to gender?
Actually it has, according to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary. If the OED isn’t always helpful for contemporary usage, it’s the be-all and end-all for word origins and historic use. It turns out what’s old is new again, as the word “they” has been used as a universal, third-person singular dating back to at least the 1500s.
Getting back to gender, part of me thinks it’s not realistic to ask every person I interview whether they identify as male, female or neither, but maybe that was the same response people had back when women started using the title “Ms.” over “Miss” or “Mrs.” Asking is just second nature now.
In the case of the aforementioned students, the subjects about which they spoke dealt with questions of identity and gender, so for future reference I should probably err on the side of caution.
My hunch, though, is despite my best intentions, I will make this blunder again – d’oh! – and it’ll cause no end of frustration for all involved.
It’s a fascinating discussion, but in the meantime, please bear with… me. (Ah, nothing like the good old first-person!)
