Sticky Wicket
|
Writers, agents, editors and publishers have a tendency to disagree on the way things ought to be done. I couldn’t possibly go into detail about all the sticking points argued about. But I know at least one I would like to go over and when I can think of others I’ll add them here. Please feel free to mail suggestions to melanotis@yahoo.com Pronouns |
 |
 |
So unless you’re on a special committee I don’t want to hear it. I’m a woman. I chose the masculine pronoun. I can do that thanks to women’s rights.
What am I talking about? When I was growing up when you were referring to a person with an unknown gender you used he/his/him. So if I give an example of a generic character he is always a guy. I don’t know what modern convention is because no one seems to agree. I’m fine with tradition so I’ve stuck to it. Mainly because the other alternatives drive me nuts.
There is a trend that has slipped into our verbal culture that is so pervasive and tenacious I occasionally catch it in my own writing despite hating it with a passion. I loath using a plural pronoun in place of a singular. It annoys me when I see it, it annoys me more when I do it myself. Some people skip out on the problem by alternating or forever being glued to he/she.
I know what started this mess and why. I just think it’s stupid and unnecessary. I really don’t see how referring to an unknown as a male is enough of a deal for women to get in a snit about sexism. For Pete’s sake some people object to the term human because it has the word man in it. Give us a break and accept we are all adults. We all know women can do almost everything a man is able to and visa versa. Get over it.
