Re: [PATCH 1/4] Documentation: use singular they when appropriate

From: Emily Shaffer <emilyshaffer@google.com>
Date: Jun 8, 2021, 17:33 UTC
Message-ID: <YL+p+MlgJ754YoqB@google.com>
In-Reply-To: <afc51c5e6edec7935a6d0d0a05d396e11311ca6c.1623085069.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>

On Mon, Jun 07, 2021 at 04:57:45PM +0000, Derrick Stolee via GitGitGadget wrote:

Show 6 quoted lines

> 
> 
> There are several instances in our documentation where we refer to an
> anonymous user as "a contributor" or "an integrator" or similar. To
> avoid repeating this role, pronouns are used. Previous examples
> chose a gender for this user, using "he/him" or "she/her" arbitrarily.

(I am not disagreeing with the series.)

There is value in intentionally defaulting to "she/her", especially in settings where women are underrepresented. It can be a nice way to shake the foundations of unconscious bias in the reader's head. See https://www.askamanager.org/2011/07/why-i-refer-to-everyone-as-she.html as an example.

> Replace these uses with "they/them" to ensure that these documentation
> examples apply to all potential users without exception.

However, in this case, I think "they/them" is appropriate as a default. As you say, this documentation is intended as a guide to potential users and contributors, and should apply to them. Thanks for writing the change.

Reviewed-by: Emily Shaffer <emilyshaffer@google.com>