Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
GENERIC PRONOUNS
All the personal pronouns are generic (that is, they can each refer to masculine, feminine, or even neuter antecedents) except those for the third person singular: he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its. Edited English still sometimes insists that he, his, and him are also generic, to be used whenever a singular referent of unspecified gender is required, but more and more publishers are now opting for inclusive language instead. See GENERIC THIRD PERSON MASCULINE SINGULAR PRONOUN; INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE.
