From: Jeffrey Walton <noloader@gmail.com>
To: "bug-gnulib@gnu.org List" <bug-gnulib@gnu.org>
Subject: Re: gendering
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2021 21:58:44 -0400 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAH8yC8m2Z2iT4abw1Up3EYcBjhKY5HKFqzj+2U+FQoiDdbiC+A@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <2784593.UtaOMtURT2@omega>
On Sat, Sep 18, 2021 at 9:19 PM Bruno Haible <bruno@clisp.org> wrote:
>
> This gendering stuff is generally off-topic on this list, but it came up here,
> therefore I'm replying here. I hope the thread will be short, since so much
> has already been written on this topic.
>
> Hi Colin,
>
> You wrote:
> > CCing Bruno since this was their commit and they might want to have a look.
>
> While I understand the motivation of gendered language, and myself use
> "they/their/them" when talking about an *unidentified* individual in English
> — so as to be inclusive and not offend the Sarahs and Leahs of this world —,
> in return I ask that you and others treat me as a human. Not as a number.
> Not as an email address. But as an *identified* person. In this role, I have
> a first name and a last name. And as usual in Western culture, the first
> name gives a good clue about the gender. When my first name is used in the
> US, it has 100% probability of being a male's first name [1]. Like yours
> has a 99.6% probability [2]. Therefore please apply a bit of common sense
> when talking about me.
>
> Some people might say "just add (he/his) to your signature". I say NO.
> For the vast majority of people in Western culture, the gender can be
> inferred from the first name. The Sarahs and Leahs of this world are a
> minority, and it's wrong for a minority to dictate what the majority
> should do.
+1.
Using they/them is also disrespective of folks in the LGBTQ community
who wish to be identified in a particular way. For example, if someone
is born a little teapot with a spout but calls themselves Sarah, it is
considered disrespectful to not acknowledge their preferred gender.
Also see https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/actually-we-should-not-all-use-they-them-pronouns/.
I think Dr. Stallman had a pretty good idea... Call the folks who are
not sure what their identity is by "pers". It avoids the grammatical
problems with subject/pronoun disagreement. Subject/pronoun
disagreement is a living hell for me. It is nearly impossible for me
to read such a sentence without breaking and reading the sentence
multiple times. Also see
https://stallman.org/articles/genderless-pronouns.html.
Jeff
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2021-09-19 2:17 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 6+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2021-09-18 23:18 Regression: GL_STDLIB_H_MODULE_INDICATOR_DEFAULTS is m4_require'd but not m4_defun'd Colin Watson
2021-09-19 1:15 ` Bruno Haible
2021-09-19 14:11 ` Colin Watson
2021-09-19 1:19 ` gendering Bruno Haible
2021-09-19 1:58 ` Jeffrey Walton [this message]
2021-09-19 14:27 ` gendering Colin Watson
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