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There are some questions on gender-neutral pronouns both here and on Writers.

User Christine Letts writes:

In academia, there is currently a movement toward using the feminine pronoun at all times.

I wonder why that is. I came across several examples on papers I read, but the only one I can remember at the moment is a book: Seth Godin's Linchpin. While some might not be comfortable labeling it as part of academia, it suits my point perfectly. Every time he refers to a person, he uses the feminine pronoun.

User Senseful writes the following, potentially identifying affirmative action as the precursor for this trend.

I remember reading somewhere that it was recommended to use the opposite of what most people stereotype the profession as. So, for example, when talking about a chiropractor, you would use "her", and when talking about a secretary, you would use "his".

So, where do you think this trend comes from?

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Júlio Santos
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    Generic pronouns are pronouns used for both sexes, "genderless" pronoun meaning "it", or neuter pronoun. – Thursagen Jun 04 '11 at 09:05
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    There is a better word than “generic pronoun”. It is typically called a gender-neutral pronoun. – F'x Jun 04 '11 at 09:30
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    I use "he" actually (and kind of always seen that)... – Alenanno Jun 04 '11 at 09:57
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    @victoriah, @Marcin: OP was offering a potential explanation, while being unaware of the actual one. As such, OP reached out to the only community he knew which could help him. OP regrets his English skills weren't enough to convey the right tone. – Júlio Santos Jun 04 '11 at 17:18
  • Can you provide an excerpt? What context is it being used as? – wtfyouasked Jun 05 '11 at 00:41
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    All over the book I mentioned, there are sentences of the likes of «If you have an employee, and she does this and that, then it's her responsibility to that and this.» – Júlio Santos Jun 05 '11 at 17:55
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    I think this is a perfectly valid question. He hasn't answered his own question - he has shown his own research, something highly encouraged on this site. Furthermore, I don't detect any sort of tone of rant in the question. – Ste Jul 12 '16 at 08:46

5 Answers5

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This practice began round about the time of the feminist movement in the late 20th century(c.1980-c.1990)

Taken from the Free Online Dictionary:

Usage Note: Using she as a generic or gender-neutral singular pronoun is more common than might be expected, given the continuing debate regarding the parallel use of he. In a 1989 article from the Los Angeles Times, for instance, writer Dan Sullivan notes, "What's wrong with reinventing the wheel? Every artist has to do so in her search for the medium that will best express her angle of vision." Alice Walker writes in 1991, "A person's work is her only signature."

Wikipedia notes why:

One response to this (use of generic pronoun he) was an increase in the use of generic she in academic journal

Thursagen
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I wouldn't call it a trend, if by that you mean "something that's growing noticeably and is likely to become common"; I've seen it only sporadically. Calling a movement--meaning, some people are doing it, without specifying how many — is probably more accurate.

Where it came from philosophically is clear: from a desire to challenge stereotypes. Perhaps more interesting is where is it going — will it catch on?

As for "should be frowned on" — that's an aesthetic/political judgement. I can't see a basis for rendering an academic answer to that.

F'x
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Steve Harris
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    My mentioning frowning was due to my belief that this movement, as you call it, is moving from one end of the sexist axis to the other. What good is that? – Júlio Santos Jun 04 '11 at 09:32
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    @Julio Santos, good point: basically, no good. – Thursagen Jun 04 '11 at 09:43
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    It's not moving from one end of the sexist axis to the other. If we accept that the use of the male form of pronoun is acceptable because mention of one gender implies all others, then using the female form should be just as acceptable for the same reason. By using the female pronoun in this way, it provokes the question whether use of male forms is really neutral. – Marcin Jun 04 '11 at 10:00
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    Using the male form pronoun is acceptable since it's now consuetudinary. Using the female one is making a point — a sexist point. – Júlio Santos Jun 04 '11 at 10:15
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    @Júlio Santos: You seem to imply that something that's customary (I wouldn't use consuetudinary here as it's an obscure legal term, and 99% of people will never have heard it), that means it's not sexist. However, many practices now considered sexist were once customary, and the way that customs change is largely by people doing things differently! That said, I haven't seen the usage of she exclusively as a gender-neutral pronoun become common, though I have seen far more often is writers that try to use a mixture of both he and she. Perhaps the unusual she is more noticeable? – psmears Jun 04 '11 at 11:56
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    Um, I wasn't addressing whether it's good or not; that was part of my point, that I can't give an academic answer that renders such a judgement. What it accomplishes is highlighting to the reader the "marked" quality that the feminine grammatical gender yet retains, causing the reader to reflect on that fact and whether that plays any part in current sexual politics. Whether that's good thing to stimulate in the reader depends on your political point of view, I think. – Steve Harris Jun 06 '11 at 04:18
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    @JúlioSantos I noticed it in the video game industry to. First on Gamasutra (really popular video game developer site) and then on some other blog posts. I didn't even ask and knew exactly why this was being done. And again I noticed what you said in your first comment "...is moving from one end of the sexist axis to the other.". This is what "equality" is in the modern world, you take the weight from one end to the other and say "OK, now we are equal" lol – Kitanga Nday Jun 15 '17 at 04:45
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    8 years later and with all the issues around the use of gender neutral pronouns would you say the trend has caught? – None Oct 12 '19 at 07:01
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    @JúlioSantos he put it very well. It's very funny in that equality is always proclaimed by feminism, but reversal seems to be the goal in practice, where sexism isn't done away with, merely flipped on its head. I find that petty in a silly sort of way. It's always been the case, but it's becoming more blatant now. – Daniel Jun 03 '20 at 15:13
  • I second @None on this one, 9 years later, is this usage of "she" still a trend? Or, because nowadays, gender issues appear far more complex than a simple dichotomy, maybe favoring "she" over "he" seems a bit simplistic (and hence the singular they trend)? – odalet Jul 14 '20 at 18:17
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The trend is a reaction to the cries for gender-neutrality and equity in technical writing. For example, this article says:

Regardless of what you may have been taught in grammar school, the use of masculine third-person pronouns (he/ him/ his/ himself) as generic pronouns is no longer acceptable to many people in business communication. Whatever your own intentions may be, some readers will regard this usage as insulting, insensitive, or at the very least, distracting.

And this one:

While it might be excessive to read history as if every general use of “man” is overtly sexist, today’s culture calls for alternatives.

There are many alternatives suggested by those articles and others, but one of them is to purposefully use "she":

For example, always use he/him/his in odd numbered chapters, and always use she/her/hers in even numbered chapters. This strategy does promote balance and has sometimes been used to good effect in textbooks, but it doesn't solve the real problem of distracting the reader.

Personally I find it very distracting, and also a bit silly. Singular "they" is a far better alternative.

Lynn
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I have found myself using 'one' when gender is unknown - it does sound very old-school, but that way no-one can get offended.

One is a pronoun in the English language. It is a gender-neutral, indefinite pronoun, meaning roughly "a person". For purposes of verb agreement it is a third-person singular pronoun, although it is sometimes used with first- or second-person reference. It is sometimes called an impersonal pronoun. It is more or less equivalent to the French pronoun on, the German man, and the Spanish uno. It has the possessive form one's and the reflexive form oneself.

Matas Vaitkevicius
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    Consider the sentence: "One should use the color he likes the most'. It returns us back to the same dilemma. – Dany Jun 01 '17 at 13:23
  • @Dany The color that one likes most, should be used! But yeah one cannot solve all the problems... – Matas Vaitkevicius Jun 01 '17 at 15:18
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    I also like to use they (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they). 'One' and 'they' sound all right to me. I have to point out, however, that my native language is gender-neutral and therefore I've always felt awkward using gender-specific pronouns in other languages. –  Aug 09 '17 at 08:43
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This use of "she" is virtually universal in American science writing now. The style in my youth was to reflect reality. Now it is to influence reality. Whether science should reflect values conflicting with observed facts (roughly, "truth") is an issue in itself. Also, there is the question of what actual effect is achieved, if any. The more forced the example, the more insincere and ironic the perceived tone. Given those caveats, the answer to the question is that this is the modern style, certainly inspired by the feminist movement, and if a writer wishes to avoid suggestions of misogyny she should conform.

Laurel
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Dick Atkinson
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    I believe we need some sort of evidence for grand claims such as "virtually universal in American science writing". – J A Terroba Feb 19 '16 at 18:38