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I know there are different opinions on this issue. My question: Is using "he" for a general, gender-neutral third person still in common use for formal writing? By common use I mean, can I expect my paper not to be penalised because I use "he" as pronoun for "a student", etc.?

I think "he/she" is too clumsy and I am not comfortable with singular they.

tchrist
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Iti
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    Possible duplicate of Gender neutral pronoun; see also Reason for the current trend to use "she" as a gender-neutral pronoun; Using "they" for person of unknown sex. – Alenanno Jun 19 '11 at 09:28
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    This question deals specifically with the acceptability of "he". Those questions deal with "they", "she", or gender neutral pronoun in general. – Iti Jun 19 '11 at 09:52
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    Those questions treat about gender neutral pronouns, and especially the main one treats about both, so yours is more or less included. Note that it's a "possible" duplicate for now, meaning that if other don't vote, it will stay open. Democracy wins! :D – Alenanno Jun 19 '11 at 10:13
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    @Alenanno: I have read the answers to those other questions, and I couldn't find any answer about the acceptability of he/his in formal writing. So this question isn't a duplicate. If I missed it, please quote. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Jun 19 '11 at 12:20
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    I now always use they without worrying. It's been in use for centuries, and it sounds perfectly acceptable to native speakers (British English). Anyone who objects is so formal as to be antediluvian, IMHO. –  Aug 12 '11 at 03:44
  • I know this doesn't answer your question as you asked it, but I believe it helps with the "gender" problem in question. In such cases I generally use "she" instead of "he" or "he/she". It's still as simple as using "he". – some user Jun 19 '11 at 20:59
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    Possible duplicate of Is there a correct gender-neutral singular pronoun ("his" vs. "her" vs. "their")? – vpn Jan 31 '17 at 00:09
  • I'm pulling for "his" to resurface to mean "its," as in "Love alone his watch is keeping. all through the night." Meanwhile, somebody should tell the poster the answer to {his, her, their} question is that {he, she,they} should try not to distract the reader the way I have just done.. Pick a style appropriate to the subject and the audience and stick to it, but not doggedly.Someone once said to me, "If you were my gender, you'd understand." I relied,"Words have gender. You and I have sex, " and they stormed out of the room. Replace "they" with "he" or "she" and see if it changes my story.. – Airymouse Jan 31 '17 at 02:01
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    How can "he" possibly be gender neutral? The use of "she" instead of he is merely an attempt to make up for the "patriarchal" oppression. But she is not gender neutral either. I cannot believe I am having to spell this out. Also, one wonders what the actual context is here. Answering questions in a context void is silly and a waste of time. There are online guides for writing in a gender-neutral way by changing how one's structure's one sentences....they is fine for some sentences, it would not necessarily work across the board. – Lambie Apr 29 '18 at 18:15

6 Answers6

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Its correctness, as with any language usage, will depend on your audience. In England, in most formal writing, using "he" in this context would communicate that you were either unaware of contemporary good usage, or deliberately flouting it.

[Edit, prompted by the OP:] For example, from the Transport for London editorial style guide (a major municipal highways authority & public transport operator with a multi-billion pound (dollar/euro) turnover:

Avoid giving offence by using outdated or patronising terms and include references to gender only when it is essential. Using the plural can be helpful: customers; local people; employees

(my emphasis)

[Edit 2] Similarly, from the Training and Development Agency for Schools style guide:

they, he/she

Use they in preference to he/she: if the candidate passes the test, they should... If possible, try to avoid using gender specific pronouns, e.g. candidates who pass the test should…

(emphasis in the original)

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    Can you cite any reputable source/guidelines saying that it's not recommended? – Iti Jun 19 '11 at 14:40
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    Both links are dead now, and how authoritative/widely applicable is the style guide of a public transport operator? – qwr Nov 09 '21 at 08:54
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The question admits no simple answer. Moreover, only by an effort can one disentangle the answer from politics, and even then not wholly. Nevertheless, let us make the effort and try.

Why to prefer he 

On the one hand, English is a Germanic language, which means among others that it has never sought a complete set of unambiguous pronouns. A Germanic language distinguishes pronouns extensively by context. For a famous example, consider the modern German sie, "she," and Sie, "you" (formal), the two words capitalized differently (though not so at the beginning of a sentence) but always pronounced alike. Whereas in English, it is she that has her own, distinctive pronoun; in modern German it is er, he.

Clumsy? Maybe. But that's Germanism for you, with roots as deep as Herodotus' tales of the frozen forests of the dim, Germanic north. You cannot alter the essential way the Germanic languages approach pronouns but by uprooting the language family entire. The pattern is etched in the languages' bones.

At any rate, on Germanic grounds, the preferred pronoun in the sex-indefinite semantical singular would be he.

Why to prefer they 

On the other hand, unlike modern German, English does admit a peculiar but nevertheless respectable, centuries-old alternative to he in the sex-indefinite semantical singular. This alternative is they.

The use of they in the sex-indefinite semantical singular is admittedly soft because it thrashes English grammatical number—as in, "A ship's captain is responsible for everything that happens on board. They are not allowed excuses." Fortunately, the practical use of they in the semantical singular usually (though not always) proves more congenial than in it does in contrived examples like the one I have just given. Unobjectionable examples of the following kind are rather more typical: "Each writer will choose the pronoun they think suits the context." (You might still prefer he, which is fine; but one cannot characterize they as wrong here.)

Both alternatives for the sex-indefinite semantical singular, he and they, have long been attested by good writers. Both can and probably should be used, even in the same literary work.

The use and misuse of she 

In recent decades, we have sometimes seen less good writers force she into the role of the sex-indefinite semantical singular. This fad represents not English style but political agitprop and should never voluntarily be done except to achieve a specific political effect. Use he or she rather, if you must, as the emphatically sex-indefinite semantical singular.

You will hear some good writers deprecate the three-word pronounal he or she, but you should understand what they probably, actually mean—and do not mean—by deprecating it. It is doubtful that a good writer deprecates he or she when the sex-indefinite nature of the pronoun calls for particular emphasis. Moreover, it can hardly be contested that today's world (for better or for worse) furnishes more subjects than formerly that call for he or she. Still, most sex-indefinite subjects do not want such emphasis, and he or she is admittedly overused.

Regarding plain she, whose use we said was forced, we should note that not all uses of she in the sex-indefinite semantical singular actually are forced. One can use she rather than he when the sex referenced is only quasi-indefinite, understood probably to be female.

Recommendations

As a default, prefer he to they for the sex-indefinite semantical singular, on the ground that Engish is a Germanic language and that he represents the better Saxon/German.

Though we have not yet mentioned it, on the uncommon occasion on which the matter arises, consider preferring she to it as the pronoun of personification (advice I have not actually followed in the answer you are reading, if only because I did not wish to distract the topic by beginning, "English is a Germanic language, which means that she has never sought a complete set of unambiguous pronouns").

Other considerations

In a college course, of course, the wise student will avoid bucking the instructor's sensibilities in the matter, whatever these sensibilities may be. Even in the unlikely event that all you learn during the four months of the course is that you and the instructor disagree, by having given the instructor's way a fair trial, you will have established a sound, respectable right to your contrary opinion. You will also have earned a high grade in the course.

Regarding language and politics, see Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-four.

thb
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    Back in the 1970's (when political feminism was less prevalent), some quasi-legal documents included statements such as "Throughout this document, the singular includes the plural, and the male includes the female." It was suggested that this should be changed to "the singular embraces the plural, and the male embraces the female." – TrevorD Jul 13 '13 at 18:01
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    @TrevorD Don’t you think that this whole “male embraces the female” thing sounds a bit dated in modern society? – tchrist Jul 13 '13 at 20:12
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    @tchrist It was intended only as a jovial aside. I'm too old always to be able to judge what is 'dated'. But we've both got 1 upvote each, so we must be both right! – TrevorD Jul 14 '13 at 02:05
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    The downvotes make my point regarding the question's political entanglement. The answer is downvoted not because it is incorrect or misleading, but precisely because it is correct and informative. Go figure. The downvotes say more about the downvoters than about the merits of the answer. – thb Apr 07 '15 at 21:48
  • Another good use of the allegedly "sexist" pronouns he and she is for describing interactions between multiple persons less ambiguously. If only one is of unknown gender, the writing is less ambiguous if the unknown gender is chosen opposite to the known one. If both are unknown a disclaimer may be needed that some would find clumsy ("In the following descriptions in this document, we will consistently use 'he' to refer to the student and 'she' to the professor. This does not imply any specific gender for the persons involved. [...] ") – Steve Feb 28 '20 at 08:14
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It's still considered acceptable. If you really want to cover your bases, include a definition at the front that reference to one gender imports all other genders, unless the context requires otherwise, and explain that you'll be using "he" for the sake of simplicity.

Edit: As per below discussion, using a single gender pronoun is not normally good style, although it is acceptable. The main reason to use it is when it's more important to avoid confusion about singular vs plural "they".

Marcin
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  • A disclaimer is a good idea – Iti Jun 19 '11 at 14:40
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    @Cerberus: I strongly disagree. It's a pretty outdated usage in most writing, except where it is important not to cause confusion about the use of "they". – Marcin Jun 19 '11 at 21:59
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    Then let's agree to disagree. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Jun 19 '11 at 23:11
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    @Cerberus: I too will disagree with you here. Firstly, it’s definitely not still de rigueur in any context — awkward circumlocutions like he/she have been acceptable for decades, and more promisingly, prejudice against the venerable singular they in formal writing is on the wane. // On the other hand, more subjectively, here’s why I prefer not to use he as a gender-neutral pronoun: [cont’d in next comment] – PLL Aug 12 '11 at 03:56
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    As you say, everyone knows conventional style, and no-one should read generic he as intentional sexism. But there’s a fair bit of research on how things like this, even when completely conventionalised, contribute to shaping people’s perceptions and prejudices of gender. The asymmetry of gender in conventional grammar and style is one of the many things reinforcing sexism in society. Yes, it’s a small part, and in many cases would be impossible to change without brutally overhauling entire languages. But this example is fairly egregious, and has a decent alternative; so why not change? – PLL Aug 12 '11 at 04:07
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    @PLL: I was on a bit of a rant there. But I do believe that many traditionalists still cling to he. I didn't mean at certain publishers or anything, just conservative circles. I know that they has a long history, possible dating back to the middle ages, which shouldn't come as a surprise. But the same objections were probably raised then by some. I didn't say anything about majorities or anything. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Aug 13 '11 at 04:45
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    @PLL: As to this pet peeve of post-modernists, I am not quite convinced. Does it really affect our thinking? That is, does it affect us beyond reminding us of there mere fact of male dominance in the past? If you have a really convincing paper, I will be interested to read it. I've heard other theories; once a certain word becomes very common in a sense that deviates from its etymology, the old associations fade away soon enough, to a point where people do not realize the literal meaning of the word any more. Just as we do not think of terror any more when we call something terrific. ... => – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Aug 13 '11 at 04:54
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    @PLL: Do you suppose that sexism is enforced less in England than on the Continent? German and Dutch use he and his for everything; but no-one sees it as a problem. The same applies to the Romance languages, I believe: while their possessive adjectives are gender neutral, they just use il etc. by default. And do you believe that people there think of women when they say la présidence, and of men with le comité? I think language is more complex than that. A bit of anecdotal evidence: I am a staunch feminist myself, glad that times have changed; and yet I strongly prefer he. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Aug 13 '11 at 05:06
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    @Cerberus: German has gendered pronouns; dutch has a single masculine/feminine gender (plus the neuter gender). Accordingly, they do not "use he and his for everything". – Marcin Aug 13 '11 at 10:05
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    @Marcin: But they do. You are confusing nouns with pronouns; only in the former are masculine and feminine mostly indistinguishable. It would be, heeft iedereen zijn hoed gepakt? (zijn = "his"), and iemand doet maar wat hij wil (hij = "he"). English is the only language that I know of that has this plural pronoun. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Aug 13 '11 at 14:42
  • Marcin: I think by “…for everything”, @Cerberus didn’t mean “…in all cases”, but “…in the generic case, that covers everyone”. French also uses generic il, and indeed goes further: the plural pronouns are gendered (ils and elles) and a mixed-gendered group is always ils. – PLL Aug 13 '11 at 17:46
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    @Cerberus: It is, of course, more complex than the example of la présidence -> women, la comitié -> men — I think you’re unfairly oversimplifying these arguments a bit there. Lena Boroditsky’s work is what I was mainly thinking of; LL has discussed it several times, eg here. She shows pretty convincingly that grammatical gender affects (not drastically, but quite significantly) the connotations we give to words: eg Spanish speakers are more apt to associate feminine-associated characteristics with bridges (la puente), – PLL Aug 13 '11 at 18:01
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    while for German speakers, the associations of die Brücke are more masculine. The specific case of generic he (hij, il, …) I don’t know of any work on. But there is lots of sociological work on how our image of a “generic person” tends to be male (try-this-at-home study: ask children to “draw a voter”, and count men vs. women in the results). I’m sure that the generic use of “he” is much more an effect than a cause of this. But in line with the sort of influence Boroditsky demonstrates, I’d be surprised if generic he doesn’t slightly contribute to reinforcing generic maleness. – PLL Aug 13 '11 at 18:14
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    I would be really interested to see research to confirm or debunk this extrapolation, but it’s hard to imagine how you would. Perhaps: take some passage where a pronoun is being used generically, rewrite it with he, they, he/she, etc, ask participants to illustrate it (or something), and see how the sexes in the illustrations break down? // More generally… as you say, times have changed a lot so far, and I too am glad of that. But there’s still a hell of a lot of sexism around, and much of it is at the non-intentional level. Which is why I care about cases like this. – PLL Aug 13 '11 at 18:22
  • If you're going to use a disclaimer, then it needs to state that your including all gender and non gender individuals, not just those with gender. But you should just use the neutral they by default. There is no reason to retreat back to distinguish singular vs plural, people can do that from context – Merlin -they-them- Jul 10 '18 at 01:31
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No, almost all English speakers and writers use "they." I'd recommend doing the same, especially in formal writing.

A summary from Huddleston and Pullum, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, 2002, p. 426 ('%' denotes acceptable in some dialects only):

They is commonly used with a singular antecedent, as in _Someone_ has left _their_ umbrella behind. As such, it fills a gap in the gender system of the core personal pronouns by virtue of being neutral as to sex. For some speakers singular they has a distinct reflexive form themself: %_Someone_ has locked _themself_ in the attic. For discussion of singular they, see the section on gender, S17.2.4.

Further discussion including specific arguments against 'purportedly sex-neutral he' and 'she' is found on pp. 491-495, noting they are often systematically avoided for good reasons, and marking them with the % sign ('grammatical in some dialect(s) only'). It also offers further avoidance strategies, including plural and first-person antecedents.

This question was specifically studied in 2009 by Collins Dictionaries for the Committee on Bible Translation. The conclusion is that the plural generic is almost universal and increasing, against masculine generic and other alternatives.

In particular, the masculine generic (he, his, himself, etc.) reduced from 22% to 8% between 1990 and 2009 while the plural/neutral (they, them, one, themselves, etc.) increased from 65% to 84%.

http://www.niv-cbt.org/information/collins-corpus-report/

1. Generic pronouns and determiners

This part of the study considered the types of pronouns and determiners that are used to refer to indefinite pronouns (such as someone, everybody and one) and non-gender specific nouns (such as a person, each child and any teacher):

A. masculine (he, his, himself, etc.); B. feminine (she, her, herself, etc.); C. plural/gender-neutral (they, them, one, themselves, etc.); D. alternative forms (s/he, him or her, his/her, etc.)

In all the varieties of English analyzed, plural/neutral pronouns and determiners account for the majority of usages. Between 1990 and 2009, instances of masculine generic pronouns and determiners, expressed as a percentage of total generic pronoun usage in general written English, fell from 22% to 8%.

e.g. ‘…when a person accepts unconditional responsibility, he denies himself the privilege of “complaining” and “finding faults.”’

Instances of ‘alternative’ generic pronouns and determiners fell from 12% to 8%.

e.g. ‘Any citizen who wants to educate himself or herself has plenty of sources from which to do so.’

Instances of plural/neutral generic pronouns and determiners rose from 65% to 84%.

e.g. ‘If you can identify an individual who metabolises nicotine faster you can treat them more effectively.’

Figures for the other corpora analyzed in the study are broadly comparable with figures from the general written English corpus both in overall magnitude and in the general trend over time.

Google Ngrams provides another view of the relative prevalence of these terms over time. The option 'he or she' grew tenfold in the 70s (previously apparently legalese), peaked in the late 90s, and has been falling back again since. This chart suggests that 'he or she' took over usage from both generic 'he' and generic 'they' (and replacement of masculine examples with feminine, boosting 'she' alone -- note this rough tool is measuring usage far broader than the generic). This indicates that the predominance of generic 'they' is not recent, but has a long tradition, far predating 'he or she.'

I'd personally consider masculine generic an archaic form, even before considering the important social reasons to prefer a gender-neutral alternative. But there are geographic locations (and maybe even academic fields) where you could expect your paper not to be penalised due to ongoing use of the masculine generic.

Dave Burt
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    Great job referencing and quoting a source. Could you update your answer to specifically address the questioner's focus on formal writing? – Sasha Vodnik Jan 22 '15 at 02:37
  • Thanks for the feedback @quietquake. I'm not sure exactly what you mean, though, can you be more specific? Would highlighting the numbers help? Or are you is it more about "formal" writing? – Dave Burt Jan 22 '15 at 04:00
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    I'm thinking specifically of the formal writing aspect. Maybe just add your own advice for the questioner's situation based on the source you're citing? – Sasha Vodnik Jan 22 '15 at 05:01
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Personally (and with the bias of a mid-western American English speaker), it sounds out-dated to use he or she in this case; the plural they avoids any gender bias. Alternatively, you also works as a replacement, however the tone may become too direct and commanding, which some may find disturbing.

Consider:

  • In order to exit the parking garage, the driver must have the ticket that he received upon entry. He must then insert the card into the slot, whereupon the amount due will be displayed.
  • In order to exit the parking garage, the driver must have the ticket that they received upon entry. They must then insert the card into the slot, whereupon the amount due will be displayed.
  • In order to exit the parking garage, you must have the ticket that you received upon entry. You must then insert the card into the slot, whereupon the amount due will be displayed.

When writing formally or for a company or publication, always be sure to follow the recommended style guide; it may indicate which you should use. (It may also indicate that one should use "she" or alternate between "he" and "she" when referring to different people in order to ensure that one pronoun isn't overused.)

Kerri Shotts
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By definition:

HE

pronoun
used to refer to a man, boy, or male animal previously mentioned or easily identified.
"everyone liked my father—he was the perfect gentleman"
noun
1.
a male; a man.
"is that a he or a she?"

UNDERSTAND?

That very simply means that HE is GENDER SPECIFIC. If a writer intends to be "GENDER NEUTRAL" then use the proper word by definition.

Yes. Writers can write anything they want meaning anything they want. Writing is a tool used to make languages be read. Yes. Readers can read writing in anyway their single brain celled mind dictates. Some will penalize, others not.

JUST WRITE IT CORRECTLY IN THE FIRST PLACE = FEWER ISSUES and most likely NO PENALTY.

MetaEd
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Volodya Sokolov
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