Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ttidcc.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!cmcl2!philabs!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe From: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) Newsgroups: net.nlang,net.women Subject: Re: Pronouns devoid of gender connotations Message-ID: <534@ttidcc.UUCP> Date: Thu, 11-Jul-85 13:38:33 EDT Article-I.D.: ttidcc.534 Posted: Thu Jul 11 13:38:33 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 15-Jul-85 00:52:13 EDT References: <2718@decwrl.UUCP> <498@rtech.UUCP><1609@dciem.UUCP> <431@mtxinu.UUCP> Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcb.UUCP (The Polymath) Organization: The Cat Factory Lines: 23 Xref: linus net.nlang:3074 net.women:5931 In article <431@mtxinu.UUCP> ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) writes: >>>7) Use "she" and "he" alternately or randomly from one work to >>> another, or from one passage to another. > >Even this doesn't always work, however. An introductory programming >text written at Berkeley a few years ago used the pronouns interchangably, >and randomly assigned them with a program. Somehow, whenever a bad >example was given - deliberately to illustrate a point - the pronoun >came out "she", or so it seemed. I once had to use a textbook where the genders were simply alternated, sometimes within the same sentence. The effect was _very_ distracting. Having to deal with a subject that changes sex three times in one sentence slows the reading and information absorption process enormously (at least it did for me), probably because it's so unexpected and unusual. --- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI Common Sense is what tells you that a ten 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. pound weight falls ten times as fast as a Santa Monica, CA 90405 one pound weight. (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe