If you’re not a fan of using gender-specific terms like he, she, him and her, the latest tweak to the Associated Press (AP) stylebook could be for you. The venerable American guide to language use says it’s OK to use “they” as a singular pronoun.
That’s right – if you’re not sure whether to refer to a he or a she when you’re telling a story, you can now say “they,” without being attacked for using bad grammar. The AP says the pronoun can also be used to describe people who don’t identify as a specific gender.
On Thursday, the news agency announced changes to its stylebook, a manual used by journalists around the world, allowing writers to us “they” as a single, gender-neutral pronoun.
“We stress that it’s usually possible to write around that,” the Associated Press Stylebook editor noted in a blog post. “But we offer new advice for two reasons: recognition that the spoken language uses they as singular and we also recognize the need for a pronoun for people who don’t identify as a he or a she.”
The guidance was among other changes made under the broader section on gender and sex.
“Not all people fall under one of two categories for sex or gender, according to leading medical organizations, so avoid references to both, either or opposite sexes or genders as a way to encompass all people,” reads a portion of the new stylebook entry.
According to the online Oxford Dictionary, “they” was used as a singular pronoun to refer to a “person of unspecified gender has been used since at least the 16th century.” However, that changed in the late 20th century “as the traditional use of he to refer to a person of either gender came under scrutiny on the grounds of sexism, this use of they became more common.”
The dictionary also noted that “the singular they is preferred by some individuals who identify as neither male nor female.”
The Associated Press’s tweak is among 200 new and modified entries in the wire service’s 2017 stylebook guide.
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