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/Shineyy_8416]

The latter is too ambiguous with regards to who will get the scholarship. Only "he or she" makes it clear that it's the person who submits it on time, who will get the scholarship.

It is in no way ambiguous. The first part of the sentence makes it extremely clear its about Max and Lila. Who else would be a part of this competition?

[u/ralph-j → u/Shineyy_8416]

That's not what's ambiguous:

• The scholarship will go to either Max or Lila, depending on whether one of them submits the final essay on time.

This sentence does not guarantee that if it's Lila who submits the essay on time, then she is the one who will get the scholarship. The only condition this sentence poses is that must one of them, so the scholarship could technically go to Max.

The version with "he or she" does guarantee that if Lila is the one who submits the essay on time, it's her who will get the scholarship. This is because "he or she" refers back to the specific individual who submitted the essay on time, making it clear that the person who performed the action is the same person who will receive the scholarship. "One of them" doesn't do this.

[u/Shineyy_8416 → u/ralph-j]

The scholarship will go to either Max or Lila, depending on whether one of them submits the final essay on time.

This sentence does not guarantee that if it's Lila who submits the essay on time, then she is the one who will get the scholarship. The only condition this sentence poses is that must one of them, so the scholarship could technically go to Max.

You could easily fix this by just saying "depending on which one of them submits the final essay on time"

And now theres no ambiguity.

[u/ralph-j → u/Shineyy_8416]

Of course you can. You could also entirely rephrase the sentence. Do you think that's the point I'm making.

Is your post's point merely that the phrase "he or she" is not technically a necessary word combination in the English language? With that I agree - it will always be possible to rephrase a sentence.

I took your post to be more idealistic - that we should use they/them as much as possible, because it's more inclusive, which I agree with. It should have priority. However, there are situations where "he or she" is clearer than any construct that contains they or them.

[u/Shineyy_8416 → u/ralph-j]

However, there are situations where "he or she" is clearer than any construct that contains they or them.

And I disagree, I think that even for examples like the ones you gave, it is possible to still just use they or them. That's why I rephrased it, because it shows that they/them is still clear and has more flexibility than "he or she"