Re: The Gender issue

Subject: Re: The Gender issue
From: Petra Thiemann <petra -dot- thiemann -at- MCH -dot- SNI -dot- DE>
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 17:50:17 +0100

Hi David,

> One matter has always interested me about our current trend to avoid gender in
> these politically correct times. English (UK and US) is blessed with the magic
> words "the" and "a" which have no gender issues except by implication (indeed it
> is that very implication that lies behind the issue to start with). On the
> other hand, many European languages have masculine, feminine and, sometimes,
> neuter genders,-- do you French, German, Italian (et cetera) writers live
> with the genders as part of your language? Or do you also have a similar
> challenge to be politically correct and avoid trying to fight it? Do you resort
> to other tricks (such as always writing in plural) to comply with the issue?

Most of the times we try to be politically correct using the plural or
the neutral gender. That is easy as long as you describe software or GUI
or something like that.
It is more difficult when you come to tasks or what to do help. In that
case I adress the reader directly: "You should do this or that to
accieve somethinmg else". So it is always "you" and not "he" or "she".

Petra Thiemann
Germany

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