Bug#263084: Please change sexist language in debian (English) webpages
On Tue, 2004-08-03 at 00:55, reisio wrote:
> IMO he/she & him/her is silly. If someone wants to take time to make it
> all completely unspecific (eg. "they", etc) kudos; otherwise I think
> you're being paranoid.
> Helen Faulkner wrote:
Um...
a) pls don't top post
b) language *means* something - gender specific language *means*
gender-specific intent - don't _say_ 'computer' when you mean 'x86' or
'PPC', no?
c) 'paranoid' might be justified in another circumstance - complaints
about gender-specific language aren't 'paranoid' - they're practical -
welcome to the (early) 20th century. Normal humans use 'they' (or
'she/he') when they talk about humans, unless they are discussing
gender-specific issues. For example, saying 'he/she' when discussing
testicular cancer might be 'paranoid'
Using a gender-neutral pronoun when discussing J.Random User is just
sensible.
George
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