RE: pronouns and portfolios

[APEERY -at- FAMILYDOLLAR -dot- COM]

I was reading a user guide the other day, and came across a line that went
something like this:

"If the user wishes further information, all she has to do is click the
Detail button."

My reaction was, 'Oh, the author must be in the middle of an example
involving a fictional female user: I'd better go back and see where it
started.'

Well, as everyone has doubtless already guessed, there was no fictional
female user; the author was merely alternating "he" and "she" throughout the
document.

Now, some of you may feel that I must have brain damage for being this
obtuse.  I would argue, however, that subject pronoun gender alternation in
technical writing can be jarring to readers.  After all, in current english
usage, "he" can refer to a specific male being, or to a person or people
whose gender is not specified (No, I don't mean Pat).  So when I read "he,"
I am ready for either a specific he or a generic reference to a person or
people whose gender is immaterial.

Whereas "she" is generally used only to refer to a being or beings
specifically female .  Therefore, out of sheer habit, when I read "she," I
think of a specific she, which is often unintended by the writer.

If we absolutely must make a political statement in a technical document,
why not always use "she," and never "he"?  I think I would find this less
confusing.

Am I alone in my madness?

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Mike Stockman [SMTP:stockman -at- jagunet -dot- com]
> Sent:	Friday, April 06, 2001 1:02 PM
> To:	TECHWR-L
> Subject:	Re: pronouns and portfolios
> 
> I think I've weighed in on this before, but using "they" with a singular 
> verb has always bugged me, although I can see the need. For years now I've
> 
> addressed this in my writing by alternating "he" examples with "she" 
> examples throughout my doc, trusting my memory (always a shaky idea) to 
> keep some balance...

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