#1 14-11-10 02:26:30

blissed

Member

From: The bus station of the future

Registered: 17-03-06

Posts: 5,622

s/he

I've avoided the phrase he or she for years preferring to use they, but just now I saw s/he and thought how obvious, economical and elegant.

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(Self made tycoon and independant financial advisor to the stars)

xxEPxx

Member

Registered: 09-12-08

Posts: 360

Re: s/he

S/hit the nail on the head there!

xxEPxx

blissed

Member

From: The bus station of the future

Registered: 17-03-06

Posts: 5,622

Re: s/he

Ha ha EP you can't shit a nail on the head, it doesn't work

and if that's something you are able to do, you should see a doctor

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(Self made tycoon and independant financial advisor to the stars)

theant

Member

Registered: 07-02-08

Posts: 96

Re: s/he

I've avoided the phrase he or she for years preferring to use they, but just now I saw s/he and thought how obvious, economical and elegant.

.

Blissed, as a teacher of plain English and clear writing, I agree with you that s/he is obvious (indeed it's very common) and economical, but I can't agree that it is elegant. To be elegant, the written word needs to sound good when read aloud, and there is no effective way to pronounce "s/he".

blissed

Member

From: The bus station of the future

Registered: 17-03-06

Posts: 5,622

Re: s/he

I think it's an elegant solution and it looks good, you could even make it a magazine title. Yeah saying it is a bit challenging and I'll be sticking with 'they' for most of writing and talking. but there are a very few situations where they doesn't work, and as part of an ongoing effort to create a more inclusive language I think s/he is a nice little extra option.

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(Self made tycoon and independant financial advisor to the stars)

Socrates505

Member

Registered: 14-07-10

Posts: 24

Re: s/he

You could also say ze and hir. They are new.

bagworm

Member

Registered: 31-07-10

Posts: 22

Re: s/he

I like 'it'.  It seems depersonalizing but when I used to use it on chat lines it was pretty fun.  It animalized.  The server would always narrate me to others in terms of it & itself, and I grew to speak/think of myself that way too.  When asked by cybersexers "are you male or female?" I would say yes, or sometimes no.

Last edited by bagworm (21-12-10 03:48:42)

Xebeche

Member

Registered: 28-05-09

Posts: 201

Re: s/he

I agree with theant - it is most profoundly not elegant, it's clumsy!

Use their imo.  It was correct in Middle English.  I'm on a crusade to bring it back.  I figure it only took til 1986 til the NY Times accepted "Ms." as an appropriate Prefix - so with that swift action (/eyeroll) it should be back in use oh...500 years after my ashes hit the ground. 

Their.  It's awesome.  And Sarah P. agrees, it can't be refudiated.

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"I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That's what I call a liberal education" - Tallulah Bankhead