Gender: Freelance editing and proofreading

Short post today in response to this article. You’ll notice I have stolen the image too, but it’s in the public domain and I think it’s an excellent image for the topic.

The article talks about the use of the singular ‘they’, as in ‘Sam makes themself a cup of tea every morning’. Although the article makes some excellent comments, I have to say that I’m disappointed with the final paragraph of the text, which states that the author will wince when she hears this type of grammar, albeit for not very long. She is a self-confessed grammar nerd, but then so are a lot of people. The singular ‘they’ is something that will come to be (or is already) natural, so why should she wince at the usage? I welcome the change in how we use language to reflect the monumental, and overdue, change in society.

Surely we have been using the singular they to refer to somone for years, but now the focus is more on gender-neutral language, and I just don’t see the problem with it. It would be interesting to know other thoughts on this.

Update

Still no work through Upwork, and a friend of mine has had no luck either. Maybe it should be called Nowork instead? The Virginia Woolf book is going ahead with revisions that I’m looking forward to making. This will mean that the publication date will be pushed back. Rehearsals are going well for the local play I’m in – it’s next week! Argh!