Quote from: Alyssa M. on April 23, 2009, 02:17:16 PM
It's worth a shot. You want to change culture? Well, language is part of culture. It is much more difficult to have an idea if you can't express it in words.
"They" is taking over, and that's a good thing. Facebook uses "they" in status updates if you don't specify your sex. Good for them. It's not just for transgendered/genderqueer people, but for general use; the old rule that if you are referring to an arbitrary person from a group of 99 girls and one boy, you must use "he" is ridiculous, sexist, stupid, confusing, awkward, and just plain lame in every way. Use "they." If you come across a nineteenth-century grammar Nazi who doesn't like it, tell them to get that stick out of their butt.
Just because other languages suck, it doesn't mean we shouldn't improve English. 
But I like how, despite the Academie Francaise's adherence to that stupid sexist rule (not to mention the Academie's existence in general), in French "une personne" is always feminine, even if there is no possibility that the particular "personne" is a woman. 
I agree with languages changing in many respects. I am happy that "they" "their" and "them" evolved to become general pronouns. BUT, did you know that they are NOT gender-neutral? When looking at English it is important that you must consider nearly 85% of our language is borrowed from some one else. All those "gender-neutral" pro-nouns you are crazy about are borrowed masculine pronouns from Scandinavian. "Person" is a feminine word from French, etc. Get the picture? The only reason a gender is emphasized in a word in a language is because YOU give it emphasis, which actually makes you the reverse-sexist in the picture. Because the reality is, no one else cares. I noticed, Alyssa, you didn't really seem to mind much that little feminine pronoun you put in at the end. Possibly because it favors females? Or is that not sexist? I didn't see any one of you complaining about Italian favoring feminine forms in their pro-nouns... Oh no, excuse me, that's not an issue not at all. Plus the fact that you are criticizing languages you don't even speak. How American of you.
The thing I don't get is why on Earth do feminists, just because they are women, think that they speak on the behalf of women everywhere? I'm writing a term paper on sexism in English and guess what, every single woman I have talked to, friends, co-workers, aunts, moms, all of them, DON'T CARE that the general term for our species is mankind. Or that you attach a Mrs. to a married woman. They are women, don't their opinions count in your little committee?
But I guess you all would rather us be wearing blue overalls and referring to each other as comrade. It really is the only way to truly remove the issue of gender from the table. Well, unless you consider properly educating our children in Philosophy, Psychology and Theology courses in order to slowly but surely open the minds of each generation to accepting people of all sexes, races and faiths. Nah, that sounds too simple, lets make everyone re-write languages that have evolved and changed naturally over thousands of years...
And by the way, just because a language doesn't conform to your narrow ideals of what is and isn't right, doesn't mean that it "sucks".
There, a male perspective to freshen up this debate.
