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

From: Emily Shaffer <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2021 10:33:44 -0700

On Mon, Jun 07, 2021 at 04:57:45PM +0000, Derrick Stolee via GitGitGadget wrote:
> 
> 
> 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 <[email-masked]>