Writing Gender Neutral Prose
For several decades, writers producing technical and nonfiction material have struggled with how to compose gender neutral prose. Before the 1970s the word “Man” was often used to mean all people, male and female. Likewise, the word “He” was used to mean a specific person who was either female or male. Instructions in manuals would read, “When an operator sees the red light flash, he must press the blue button.” This created a gender imbalance in the language and implied that women were merely extensions of men.
In the intervening years, society has looked for ways to be gender inclusive in writing. The first attempt was to write, “he or she.” Alternatives have been “she or he” – “he/she” – “she/he” and “s/he.” These were often rotated so that each gender reference alternately appeared first in sentences.
Not only are these phrases awkward, they persist in pointing out gender inequality by making a distinction. In addition, there is the question of who goes first, the male or the female reference.
Some people have suggested introducing new pronouns that are gender natural. None have been adopted. Even though the English language is very malleable and changes occur frequently, there are some words that are highly resistant to change. Pronouns are among these.
Others have suggested that the plural pronoun “they” be use in a singular sentence, such as, “When the operator sees the red light flash. they must press the blue button.” This is not grammatically correct. Mixing singular with plural in a sentence sounds and reads wrong.
I have wrestled with the concept of writing in gender neutral terms for years in writing articles, business documents and technical manuals. The solution I have settled on is to make sentences plural unless I am speaking about a particular person, as in, “When operators see the red light flash, they must press the blue button.” There is no need for the ungainly “he or she” or to break grammar rules by combining plural and singular in a sentence. This is simple, flows seamlessly and does not bring up images of gender imbalance because there is no gender reference when writing in general terms.
If writers speak of a particular person, they may use "he" for males and "she" for females, as in, “Mary drove her car to work” or “Tom picked up his dry cleaning.”
There can be cases where a specific person being described does not want to be associated with a gender at all. Consider the sentence, “Feglarglata got into the car and drove to the store.” In this simple third person narrative it is not necessary to identify the gender of the character Feglarglata.
Gender does not have to be mentioned when writing in the first person in English. “I got into my car and drove to the store.” There is no gender identification in pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘you’, ‘us’ and ‘them’ are gender neutral.
In the third person you might say, “Feglarglata got into the car owned by Feglarglata and drove to the store.” Repeating the individual’s name avoids any gender specific pronouns, but it is a little long winded and a bit awkward.
The sentence could also be written, ”Feglarglata got into its car and drove to the store.” This works but addressing a person as ‘it’ sounds harsh and impersonal.
It is possible to write a complete story without any reference to gender and not get bogged down. Consider this tale.
Feglarglata owned a car and drove it to the store. It was a short trip and the scenery was pleasant. After finding a parking space near the front door, it was a quick walk into the store to buy some bread and vegetables for the party that evening. Feglarglata was looking forward to seeing new and old friends alike. There would certainly be an enjoyable game of charades.
The trip home passed the old city hall that had been converted into a community center. Childhood memories surfaced of days spent playing softball and making crafts.
At home, the groceries were put away. A quick inspection of the kitchen and living room showed that everything was ready for the party.
The doorbell rang and Grylke walked into the living room sporting a wide smile. The old friend said, “I have been looking forward to this. I saw the others at launch and they are all coming”.
The two of them shook hands. Feglarglata said, “Can you help me bring some chairs in from the kitchen. We should be able to finish before anyone else arrives.” As soon as they were done, the doorbell sounded again.
In the intervening years, society has looked for ways to be gender inclusive in writing. The first attempt was to write, “he or she.” Alternatives have been “she or he” – “he/she” – “she/he” and “s/he.” These were often rotated so that each gender reference alternately appeared first in sentences.
Not only are these phrases awkward, they persist in pointing out gender inequality by making a distinction. In addition, there is the question of who goes first, the male or the female reference.
Some people have suggested introducing new pronouns that are gender natural. None have been adopted. Even though the English language is very malleable and changes occur frequently, there are some words that are highly resistant to change. Pronouns are among these.
Others have suggested that the plural pronoun “they” be use in a singular sentence, such as, “When the operator sees the red light flash. they must press the blue button.” This is not grammatically correct. Mixing singular with plural in a sentence sounds and reads wrong.
I have wrestled with the concept of writing in gender neutral terms for years in writing articles, business documents and technical manuals. The solution I have settled on is to make sentences plural unless I am speaking about a particular person, as in, “When operators see the red light flash, they must press the blue button.” There is no need for the ungainly “he or she” or to break grammar rules by combining plural and singular in a sentence. This is simple, flows seamlessly and does not bring up images of gender imbalance because there is no gender reference when writing in general terms.
If writers speak of a particular person, they may use "he" for males and "she" for females, as in, “Mary drove her car to work” or “Tom picked up his dry cleaning.”
There can be cases where a specific person being described does not want to be associated with a gender at all. Consider the sentence, “Feglarglata got into the car and drove to the store.” In this simple third person narrative it is not necessary to identify the gender of the character Feglarglata.
Gender does not have to be mentioned when writing in the first person in English. “I got into my car and drove to the store.” There is no gender identification in pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘you’, ‘us’ and ‘them’ are gender neutral.
In the third person you might say, “Feglarglata got into the car owned by Feglarglata and drove to the store.” Repeating the individual’s name avoids any gender specific pronouns, but it is a little long winded and a bit awkward.
The sentence could also be written, ”Feglarglata got into its car and drove to the store.” This works but addressing a person as ‘it’ sounds harsh and impersonal.
It is possible to write a complete story without any reference to gender and not get bogged down. Consider this tale.
Feglarglata owned a car and drove it to the store. It was a short trip and the scenery was pleasant. After finding a parking space near the front door, it was a quick walk into the store to buy some bread and vegetables for the party that evening. Feglarglata was looking forward to seeing new and old friends alike. There would certainly be an enjoyable game of charades.
The trip home passed the old city hall that had been converted into a community center. Childhood memories surfaced of days spent playing softball and making crafts.
At home, the groceries were put away. A quick inspection of the kitchen and living room showed that everything was ready for the party.
The doorbell rang and Grylke walked into the living room sporting a wide smile. The old friend said, “I have been looking forward to this. I saw the others at launch and they are all coming”.
The two of them shook hands. Feglarglata said, “Can you help me bring some chairs in from the kitchen. We should be able to finish before anyone else arrives.” As soon as they were done, the doorbell sounded again.