| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
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5. Gender: Sexist Language and Assumptions
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| § 12. he |
| he as generic pronoun. Many writers of English have traditionally used the pronouns he, him, and his as generic or gender-neutral singular pronouns in formal writing, as in A novelist should write about what he knows best and No one seems to take any pride in his work anymore. However, whether he really refers to both genders or can be considered gender-neutral is questionable, since many people feel that it can only designate a male who is supposed to be taken as the representative member of the group referred to. When many occupations and public offices were held exclusively by men, using he in this way was unremarkable. For example, the sentence Each member of Congress is answerable to his constituents could raise no objections throughout most of U.S. history, as Congress was occupied exclusively by men, and there was scant possibility of women holding office. But the argument for the continued use of the so-called masculine generic in formal English gets more shaky every day, with women becoming more visible in all aspects of public life; instead the singular masculine pronouns now seem best used when referring to a group of men—and when used in this way they parallel the singular feminine pronouns. | 1 |
| Nonetheless, the use of the masculine pronoun as generic still has its advocates: in a series of sample sentences such as A taxpayer who fails to disclose the source of _____ income can be prosecuted under the new law, 37 percent of the Usage Panel completed the sentences with the masculine pronoun. | 2 |
| But if you don’t like the traditional usage or feel it is sexist, you will want to avoid generic he. | 3 |
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| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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