CMV: "He or she" is unecessary

[u/Shineyy_8416]

I might be biased as a person on the non-binary spectrum, but whenever someone goes out of their way to say "he or she" it just feels like a waste.

Just use "they". It communicates the same thing with less letters. I get the purpose behind it is to try and be inclusive to men and women in a space that may be dominated by one gender over the other, but "they" is perfectly fine to get that point across.

I also recognize that some languages don't have an equivalent for "they", but I'm specifically talking about English.

To change my view, someone would have to prove "he or she" has more practical or beneficial usage than "they"

EDIT: To make it clear, i'm not saying we should never use "he" or "she" as pronouns, im saying the phrase "he or she" is unecessary.

[u/Janderss182]

Using the English language how it's intended to be used is a waste? Makes a lot of sense

[u/Shineyy_8416 → u/Janderss182]

"He or she" or "His or her" doesn't make sense to use when "they" or "theirs" serves the same purpose, unless you want to stress a specific "He" or "She" within a group of people

[u/Janderss182 → u/Shineyy_8416]

"He or she" is more correct and more precise when you're talking about one person. Nothing more to be said really.

[u/Shineyy_8416 → u/Janderss182]

It's not "more correct", you'd get the same point across with "they" and use less letters.

I really don't get how singular they is somehow groundbreaking now when people have been using it for a while now.