Gender & Pronoouns: referring to both male and female

Gender & Pronouns

Referring to both males and females

A gender neutral pronoun means that a pronoun is not masculine-only or feminine-only.

In formal English, we use the pronoun his to refer to a male or a female. However, some speakers and writers feel that his does not reflect modern attitudes toward gender equity. "Attempts to invent pronouns for this purpose date back at least to 1850." (Williams)

"The issue is unresolved, but it begins to look as if the use of an indefinite third person singular is not passing unnoticed by standard speakers (except those trained in grammar) and is being left unaltered by copy editors. (Fowler 776)

"As most commentators note, the traditional pronoun for each of these cases is the masculine third person singular, he, his, him. This tradition goes back to the 18th century grammarians, who boxed themselves into the position by first deciding that the indefinite pronouns must always be singular. They then had to decide between the masculine and feminine pronouns for use in reference to the indefinites, and they chose the masculine (they were of course, all men). (Merriam-Webster 902)

Speakers and writers apply different strategies to deal with the problem. Some avoid the problem by rephrasing (using passive voice), others use both his and her, and others use the plural form – their. (CaGEL 494-5)

Gender Agreement Problem – singular versus plural possesive pronoun use

SINGULAR – GENDER STATED	PLURAL – GENDER NOT STATED
Formally, a singular possessive pronoun is used with a singular personal noun such as anyone, everyone, each person, a baby, a chid, a person (an indefinite pronoun that does not specify gender.) Use formal agreement for business and academic English.	Informally, and mostly in speech, a plural possessive pronoun is often heard together with a singular personal noun such as anyone, everyone, each person, a baby, a chid, a person (an indefinite pronoun that does not specify gender.)
Everyone had his picture taken. A m asculine possessive pronoun refers to a male or female. Huddleston and Pullum, "Purportedly, sex-neutral he" 17.2.4 (a)	Everyone had his or her picture taken. (disjunctive coordination) — "Disjunctive Coordination" [he or she] 17.2.4 (c)
Everyone had her picture taken. A feminine possessive pronoun refers to a female (only if everyone in the group is female.) — "Purportedly, sex-neutral she" 17.2.4 (b)	Everyone had his/her picture taken. (composite forms– s/he) Everyone had (his)her picture taken. (composite forms– (s)he) — "Composite Forms" [(s)he, s/he] 17.2.4 (d)
	Everyone had their picture taken. ("singular they") Everyone is usually followed by a singular pronoun. However, in this sentence, their is being used when (1) the gender is unknown; or (2) the speaker wishes to mask the gender of the person being discussed; or (3) the speaker doesn't want to exclude one gender by using his. — "Singular they" 17.2.4(e)

Gender Agreement Strategies

PROBLEM EXAMPLES	GENDER AGREEMENT STRATEGIES
Everyone must pay his income tax by April 15. (Do only men have to pay taxes?) Speakers feel choosing one pronoun for mixed genders is awkward.	Mention both genders: Everyone must pay his or her tax by April 15. (his/her)
A good citizen must pay her income tax by April 15 (Do only woment have to pay taxes?) Especialy in baby-books, an author /doctor will alternate using his or her.	Use plural agreement: All citizens must pay their taxes by April 15.
Everyone must pay their tax by April 15. (Does everyone pay one tax collectively?) While often heard, this is informal, not for business or academic use.	Use passive voice to avoid mentioning the subject: Income tax must be paid by April 15th.

PROBLEM EXAMPLES

GENDER AGREEMENT STRATEGIES

Everyone must pay his income tax by April 15.
(Do only men have to pay taxes?)

Speakers feel choosing one pronoun for mixed genders is awkward.

Mention both genders:
Everyone must pay his or her tax by April 15. (his/her)

A good citizen must pay her income tax by April 15
(Do only woment have to pay taxes?)

Especialy in baby-books, an author /doctor will alternate using his or her.

Use plural agreement:
All citizens must pay their taxes by April 15.

Everyone must pay their tax by April 15.
(Does everyone pay one tax collectively?)

While often heard, this is informal, not for business or academic use.

Use passive voice to avoid mentioning the subject:
Income tax must be paid by April 15th.

Resources

Bodine, Anne. "Androcentrism in prescriptive grammar: singular ‘they’, sex-indefinite ‘he’, and ‘he or she." Language in Society (1975), 4 : 129-146 Cambridge University Press < Link >
Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. 17.2.4 (p. 490)
Lakoff, Robin. Language and Woman's Place. Oxford University Press. 1975. p. 70 -71. Print < Link >
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1994.Print. (p. 902)
Williams, John (1990s). "History — Modern Neologism". Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ. 30 April, 2004. Web.< http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp/history.html#net >7 July 2011.
†"Gender Neutral Pronoun." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 June 2011. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_pronoun > 6 July 2011
"Singular They." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 July 201a. Web.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they

Practice 1

Strategies for agreement

Identify the agreement problems and use 3 strategies for rephrasing.

Read the paragraph below about a basketball summer camp. The writer wants to encourage both boys and girls to attend. However, the paragraph has pronoun agreement problems:

BASKETBALL CAMP PHILOSOPHY: MORE THAN CHAMPIONS

Our camp provides a service to help everyone reach their potential. Our goal is for each camper to work hard and feel good about themselves in a safe, disciplined, highly structured and motivated environment of learning and fun. We place every child and their personal development ahead of the game. Every one of our children gets positive encouragement to improve their fundamental skills. Players also learn sportsmanship while working with their team to win. By the end of the camp session, every child will get their certificate. Every child will have enjoyed his basketball camp program.

Vocabulary

day-camp (n.) – a place where children can go in the day during the school holidays to do sports, art etc
certificate (n.) – an official paper stating completion of a course, study or exam
champions (n.) – winners of a competition
development (n.) – the process of becoming bigger, better, stronger, or more advanced
disciplined (adj.) – obeying rules and controlling behavior
encouragement (adj.) – giving a person confidence to do something
environment (n.) – the people and things that are around the person, the general situation and feeling one has in the place

fundamentals (n.) – the most important ideas, rules, the basics
goal (n.) – something that a person hopes to achieve in the future, an objective
motivated (adj.) – very much wanting to do or achieve something, especially because it is interesting or exciting
philosophy (adj.) – the attitude or set of ideas that guides the behaviour of a person or organization
potential (n.) – a natural ability or quality that one has, a talent that practice enables
skills (n.) – an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practiced / practised it
structured (adj.) – carefully organized, planned, or arranged

How would you improve the above paragraph?

Select the response from each menu that best completes the paragraph agreement.

Our camp provides a service to help everyone reach potential. Our goal is for each camper to work hard and feel good about in a safe, disciplined, highly structured and motivated environment of learning and fun. We place every child and personal development ahead of the game. Every one of our children gets positive encouragement to improve fundamental skills. Also, sportsmanship while working with to win. At the end of the camp session, every child will get . By the end of the camp session, every child will have enjoyed basketball camp program.

Compare your response:

STRATEGY 1: Change all to singular	STRATEGY 2: Change all to plural
Using singular pronouns (masculine) (1) makes the paragraph grammatically correct, but it does not appeal to girls. (2) Using double singular pronouns (masculine and feminine) is a bit repetitive and awkward.	Using plural nouns and pronouns removes the focus from the individual to "all". It avoids indicating gender.
Our camp provides a service to help everyone reach potential. Our goal is for each camper to work hard and feel good about in a safe, disciplined, highly structured and motivated environment of learning and fun. We place every child and personal development ahead of the game. Every one of our children gets positive encouragement to improve fundamental skills. Also, sportsmanship while working with to win. At the end of the camp session, every child will get . By the end of the camp session, every child will have enjoyed basketball camp program.	Our camp provides a service to help children reach potentials. Our goal is for all campers to work hard and feel good about in a safe, disciplined, highly structured and motivated environment of learning and fun. We place all children and personal development ahead of the game. All of our children get positive encouragement to improve fundamental skills. Also, sportsmanship while working with to win. At the end of the camp session, the children will get . By the end of the camp session, campers will have enjoyed basketball camp program.

STRATEGY 1: Change all to singular

STRATEGY 2: Change all to plural

Using singular pronouns (masculine) (1) makes the paragraph grammatically correct, but it does not appeal to girls. (2) Using double singular pronouns (masculine and feminine) is a bit repetitive and awkward.

Using plural nouns and pronouns removes the focus from the individual to "all". It avoids indicating gender.

Our camp provides a service to help children reach potentials. Our goal is for all campers to work hard and feel good about in a safe, disciplined, highly structured and motivated environment of learning and fun. We place all children and personal development ahead of the game. All of our children get positive encouragement to improve fundamental skills. Also, sportsmanship while working with to win. At the end of the camp session, the children will get . By the end of the camp session, campers will have enjoyed basketball camp program.

Practice 2

General vs. Individual Focus

STRETEGY 3

Use plural nouns and pronouns for general statements.
Use singular nouns and pronouns for statements focusing on the individual attention given by the camp.

#	YOUR EDIT	ANSWERS
1.	Every child will receive his lunch and snack daily. CHANGE TO PLURAL AGREEMENT: All children Every child will receive his lunch and snack daily.
2.	All children will get individual help with their ball handling skills. CHANGE TO SINGULAR AGREEMENT: Every child All children will get individual help with their ball handling skills
3.	Campers, who have special needs, should talk to their counselors. camper or day-camper (n.) – term for a child participating in a day-camp (sports program) activity. CHANGE TO SINGULAR AGREEMENT: A camper Campers, who have special needs, should talk to their counselors.
4.	Campers will receive T-shirts with their names on them. CHANGE TO SINGULAR AGREEMENT: Each Campers will receive T-shirts with their names on them.
5.	Every day-camper will participate on a team to improve his sportsmanship skills. CHANGE TO PLURAL AGREEMENT: day-campers Every camper will participate on a team to improve sportsmanship skills.
6.	Each player will have an opportunity to get his name on the Award Board. CHANGE TO PLURAL AGREEMENT: Players Each player will have an opportunity to get his name on the Award Board.
7.	The children will find themselves becoming more confident. CHANGE TO SINGULAR AGREEMENT: Every The children will find themselves becoming more confident.

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