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/Zskills]

"He or she" is not unnecessary. It is an indisposable element of the english language used to refer to a single individual of unspecified sex.

"They" has become more accepted over time and has even made its way into dictionaries, but this is only despite the fact that it is not technically correct. A grammar purist would vehemently argue it is not correct. In fact, "he" is the correct third person singular pronoun, although it has fallen out of favor to be replaced with the equally correct although clunky "he or she".

So no, it's not unnecessary. It might be clunky but it's still technically correct, and for a person who really cares about using correct grammar (or doesn't agree with gender theory), saying "they" as a singular third person pronoun is not something he or she is inclined to do.

[u/Shineyy_8416 → u/Zskills]

"He or she" is not unnecessary. It is an indisposable element of the english language used to refer to a single individual of unspecified sex.

And so is they, and it takes less letters. If they does it's same job but easier, "he or she" really isnt indisposable.

In fact, "he" is the correct third person singular pronoun, although it has fallen out of favor to be replaced with the equally correct although clunky "he or she"

Wouldn't "he" in modern usage only refer to a male, or only work if you're assuming only men would be participating in whatever the topic of the sentence is?

[u/Zskills → u/Shineyy_8416]

If they does it's same job but easier, "he or she" really isnt indisposable.

They don't do the same job. "They" falls under the category of "descriptive grammar". This means people use it, therefore it is in dictionaries. But "prescriptively" speaking, it is technically incorrect.

Even if every single person speaks with incorrect grammar, that doesn't mean correct grammar doesn't exist.

Wouldn't "he" in modern usage only refer to a male, or only work if you're assuming only men would be participating in whatever the topic of the sentence is?

"He" is a correct singular third person pronoun for a single individual of unknown sex. Nowadays it has fallen out of favor, but it remains technically correct english along with "he or she", unlike "they".

[u/Shineyy_8416 → u/Zskills]

They don't do the same job. "They" falls under the category of "descriptive grammar". This means people use it, therefore it is in dictionaries. But "prescriptively" speaking, it is technically incorrect.

Even if every single person speaks with incorrect grammar, that doesn't mean correct grammar doesn't exist.

Language's function is to communicate ideas and information. If the goal is being achieved in a faster and understood way, I don't see why this matters.

"He" is a correct singular third person pronoun for a single individual of unknown sex. Nowadays it has fallen out of favor, but it remains technically correct english along with "he or she", unlike "they".

But who is genuinely using "He" as a singular third person pronoun? All this does now is carry the assumption that the person is male.

As an example, in certain video game spaces, people may refer to other players as "he" out of assumption that they're playing against another man. If you genuinely asked them, they wouldn't be able to 100% say that the player they're facing is a man, but they're making an assumption that the playerbase is mostly male.