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When talking about or referring to someone who could either be a male or a female, I usually write it as (s)he but I have also seen usage like he/she, which also seems correct to me.

I use (s)he mostly because I find it shorter (fewer keystrokes). Are both (s)he and he/she correct? Any references are welcome.

And could s/he also be used?

Heartspring
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Bleeding Fingers
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    You should use they. – Matt E. Эллен Jan 13 '14 at 20:26
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    That's really a Style Guide kind of a question... any of them could be used, or you could write the whole thing in "gender-neutral plurals" (using they everywhere), or you could define 'Jane, a typical user' and then refer to "her" the entire time. – Hellion Jan 13 '14 at 20:26
  • @MattЭллен Yeah I know, I saw questions on gender neutrality related to this, but this question is asking whether a particular usage is correct or not, and which one should be used. – Bleeding Fingers Jan 13 '14 at 20:32
  • @Hellion Well, since I saw the other usage I began to question the one I personally used. That is, is it correct or not? – Bleeding Fingers Jan 13 '14 at 20:35
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    I believe that in formal writing it should be he or she. If you're writing emails to friends and colleagues, it's your choice. I might write s/he which use even fewer keystrokes! – Mari-Lou A Jan 13 '14 at 20:49
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    I've worked on submissions where only one of your alternatives was considered correct – the other was returned for 'correction'. I can't remember which it was, and I'm sure that others have met with the alternative stance. 'They' (used as singular) (yes, really) is probably the generally (though by no means universally) preferred option nowadays, as Matt seems to suggest. Eventually, you have to come to the conclusion that anyone demanding a particular alternative here is setting themself (oops, him/herself) up as English Czar. We haven't got one. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 13 '14 at 20:49
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    @MattЭллен But since BleedingFingers is asking a specific question, it is unclear as to whether they (huh?) are (?) open to an alternative. – bib Jan 13 '14 at 20:49
  • @bib 'Specific questions' of the nature 'Should it be a dozen eggs or twelve eggs?', or worse 'Does 3 + 4 = 6 or 8', are not offering scope for sensible answers. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 13 '14 at 20:52
  • @EdwinAshworth It was intended more to be a genial poke at MattЭллен's logic than a prescriptive for answers. – bib Jan 13 '14 at 20:54
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    @bib I used your genial poke to sneak in a minirant about a problem I feel occurs far too commonly in questions: 'Is A or B the correct construction?' where the answer 'C is the preferred construction' is met with 'But that's not the question asked by OP.' – Edwin Ashworth Jan 13 '14 at 20:59
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    @BleedingFingers, it's a matter of stylistic preference; none of them is "more correct" than the others. So use whichever one makes your fingers bleed the least. – Hellion Jan 13 '14 at 21:01
  • Yes, grammar is not there to cause you pain and anxiety. Take care of your fingertips and they will take care of you. – John Lawler Jan 13 '14 at 21:07
  • @Mari-LouA re s/he: does that not parse to you as s or he? To generate she or he I would say you need (s)he or she/he based on the common general uses of slashes and brackets. – Chris H Jan 16 '14 at 14:12
  • Duplicate of http://english.stackexchange.com/q/48/2085. – tchrist Jan 24 '14 at 03:06
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    If you use (s)he, for consistency don't you have to use h(er/im)? And h(i/er)s? I recommend not using any of these – Peter Shor Jun 19 '16 at 16:44
  • To me, the main problem with "s/he" is not knowing how to pronounce it. – Dan May 24 '23 at 22:38

3 Answers3

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Take a big chunk of your text and print it out in a few different ways, read it, and see which you prefer. There isn't a correct answer here.

Do pay attention to the visual - if you're using the phrase often enough, then your page may look like a mess of /'s or ()'s from a distance.

Personally, I'm biased towards "they" or rewriting so that your pronouns refer to an example person with a defined gender. This doesn't leave anyone out, especially folks who find neither "he" nor "she" to be a good fit for their gender. (Plus it avoids the aforementioned symbol overload.)

nollidge
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You have asked a dangerous question. I would use he or she. The use of the genderless they is so widely accepted nowadays that questions regarding its use or non-use will not validate in standardized testing and, therefore, agreement is no longer tested on the SAT using the genderless they. S/he looks tawdry to my eye because it is, at best, a novel use of the slash. In the final analysis, the best answer will depend on your audience. If they are in their 60s or older, I'd avoid the use of anything other than "he or she." If they are younger, he or she still allows you to avoid the issue. And I cannot say that they is wrong, despite the fact that hearing it pains my aged ears.

Michael Owen Sartin
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Yes, both (s)he and he/she are acceptable abbreviations for usage where space is at a premium and gender of a person is important.

s/he is not a common abbreviation, and will confuse more users than the other two.

However, if at all possible, you should ignore the issue. Inhuman beings can safely be referred to as "it" (ie, the cow and its feed), and while you can refer to humans that way as well you may not wish to for style reasons, and instead use gender neutral titles instead of pronouns. (baby and baby's parent)

DougM
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    If the author tries to avoid all pronouns, the author's prose turns turgid and unreadable and the author quickly loses the author's audience. – Peter Shor Jun 19 '16 at 16:38