Thursday, July 09, 2009
I hate the politically correct "her" in writing for the public
Another of countless annoying examples comes from Ezra Klien of the Washington Post...
Here's a tip from my school of journalism: If you want to write in a gender-free manner, write in a gender-free manner. It's easy...
To use (the factually inaccurate) "her" is nothing but a gratuitous injection of a statement of your own politics where it doesn't belong...
It is just bad, egocentric, writing.
A journalist's core competency is, in theory, her ability to write articles. But I've been interested lately ...When did the proper reference to journalists become "her"? I do a lot of journalism and I'm not a her.
Here's a tip from my school of journalism: If you want to write in a gender-free manner, write in a gender-free manner. It's easy...
A journalist's core competency is, in theory, the ability to write articles. But I've been interested lately ...See how easy?
To use (the factually inaccurate) "her" is nothing but a gratuitous injection of a statement of your own politics where it doesn't belong...
A journalist's core competency is, in theory, her -- see how progressive I am, sisters! -- ability to write articles. But I've been interested lately ...If a "his" is to be scuppered because not all journalists are men and it is annoying to a minority of readers -- in spite of its usage as a universal in the English language, well, forever -- how can "her" be better?
It is just bad, egocentric, writing.
