Another one woke up from woke
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Yes, I remember being taught that if the gender was unknown, in speaking or writing, that it should default to male pronouns.
Never until a few years ago have I seen the bizarre anti-grammar trend of replacing singular pronouns with plural versions.
using 'they' for an unknown gender is way more clear than 'he' imo. that's a natural evolution of grammar. screaming sexism when the older convention is used is where it becomes political.
More clear? It's confusing as hell when someone states a group of people (by using they) while my mind was thinking we were discussing a single person. It's been a few years now and it still throws me off when people (mainly young, school aged people) mix up the singular and plural.
its not a mixup, its definitely a new standard. not a woke thing. the plural is applied because it refers to the multitude of possibilities. if the hypothetical could only be a male, then 'he' is used. 'they' allows for both possibilities, without implying a gender. Its much more conversational, which is why the singular usage of 'they' has been around for literally hundreds and hundreds of years.
Show me a case where it is used in the singular more than 5o years ago
Someone mentioned demons in the Bible referring to themselves as they/them. That stuck with me. I would like to know which version and passage.