> it's a pretty small step to use for someone's gender you don't want to assume.
Well that's the question, isn't it? How often do I have occasion to talk about someone whose gender I don't want to assume? In virtually every case, I am able to correctly ascertain the gender identity of a person I am going to talk about.
The Stanford rules would have me pretend as if I just have no idea, and use "they" instead of "he" or "she". This is utter foolishness. It ignores the offense and confusion that will result from "they-ing" someone who goes by "he" or "she". And it ignores the fact that it is generally very easy to deduce someone's gender identity.
Yep, and I am happy to use "they" in that setting. The Stanford rules are silly because they also call for using "they" to refer to people whom you do know, if they've never specifically instructed you on their preferred pronouns. I am apparently supposed to refer to President Biden as a "they", since he's not told me otherwise.
Alternatively, imagine demanding that everyone champion and perpetuate systems of thought and speech that support delusion and undermine real mental wellbeing.
Singular they is linguistically better than "he or she".
Banning Karen (and most of these lists) is a ridiculous demand, I think this one instance is the place where politicization is preventing people from considering the benefits. It makes language a lot smoother independently of non-binary uses.
Imagine conflating using the pronoun 'they' as a gender neutral term has any link to communism or their atrocities. Ironically, the current rightwing US party has much more in common with Stalin/Putin than someone who doesnt want to assume someone's gender.
But you can't expect an honest interpretation of history and current events from someone like you
Well that's the question, isn't it? How often do I have occasion to talk about someone whose gender I don't want to assume? In virtually every case, I am able to correctly ascertain the gender identity of a person I am going to talk about.
The Stanford rules would have me pretend as if I just have no idea, and use "they" instead of "he" or "she". This is utter foolishness. It ignores the offense and confusion that will result from "they-ing" someone who goes by "he" or "she". And it ignores the fact that it is generally very easy to deduce someone's gender identity.