This has been bothering me for more than a quarter-century now so it’s time I said something.
And past time that something was done.
Writing papers in school and college I always hated having to cobble something together when refering to an unspecified, singular, person. Sure, using ‘he or she’ will work, and using it enough time will bump the word count. But it still got old quickly, even changing it up to ‘she or he’ only worked for a few paragraphs. S/he? Looks contrived and how in the world would you read that aloud? Calling an individual ‘them’, ‘they’, or ‘their’ just grates like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Wikipedia has a decent article on the subject and cites that attempts have been made since the 1850’s to rectify this. One has to wonder if that movement is wo/manned by the same group that periodically tries to introduce dollar coins. A modern day Sisyphean challenge.
What are the odds that such a brilliant group as the Dopers could be the long overdue catalyst for change necessary to fix this inexcusable oversight?
Oh well, enough mundane and pointless for now. I’m just sitting here waiting for a phone call. May have enough time for a few more minor threads before he/she/it gets the info I need and calls.