If you study nature, you can see the ongoing process of evolution all around you. For example, in a city in Britain, there was a moth that was mainly white, although a few individuals were black. But over time, as Britain became more industrialized, the moth’s primary color changed to black, the reason being that the blacker the streets, sidewalks, and surroundings became from smoke and oil residues, the easier it was for the moth’s predators to see the white moths before the black moths.
Language and grammar evolve as well. One of the beautiful things about English is the rate at which it conjures up new words, adds new meanings to existing words, and switches grammar rules around.
For example, in English class in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, I was taught that if you were writing about a person who could be either male or female, you were supposed to just use the pronoun “he.” “He” was understood to be inclusive of all genders.
As I started writing briefs and studying the law in the 1990’s, I noticed that rather than just using “he,” many writers shifted to “he/she” or “he or she.”
So, in the 1970’s, I would write the following sentence:
“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his shoes, no matter who he was.”
In the 1990’s, that sentence morphed to:
“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his or her shoes, no matter who he or she was.”
Or
“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his/her shoes, no matter who he/she was.”
In the 2000’s, as people become more aware of personal pronoun choices, that sentence then became:
“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his/her/their shoes, no matter who he/she/they were.”
Now, in the 2020’s, I have noticed another shift, toward the sole use of the pronoun “they” in such situations.
“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping their shoes, no matter who they were.”
I am torn by this latest iteration. I do not hesitate to use it when it makes a sentence less cumbersome, but at the same time, part of me cringes whenever I do so because an atavistic voice in the back of my head keeps shouting that it’s wrong.
So, to my official grammarians out there, and the many excellent writers who contribute to and read this blog, I would like to know if you have noticed this as a trend, and whether you think the 2020’s use of “they” instead of “he” or “he or she” or “he/she” or “he or she or they” or “he/she/they” is proper grammar? Am I the only one who has noticed this change? Is there another way to tackle this issue?
