While we're on the subject of gender and information-gathering...

[featherynscale]

[Poll #650071]

Comments

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I was actually thinking of written forms, but I am interested in the spoken forms as well. When I write, I do sometimes use s/he, which of course is stupid when you say it.

[celticwhistlin.livejournal.com]

I interpreted this as spoken not written. In written form I tend to use he/she. In spoken form, I use they.

Write as I say, not as I do?

[niveus-tigris.livejournal.com]

I tend more towards what I would consider proper english in both my spoken and written communication. Writing s/he is just as awkward as writing priest/ess or bachelor/ette. While they might be fun to use in certain situations, they are less than proper and impossible to say if you don't want to sound like you're stuttering. Analytically, I am always conscious of how well people understand what I am trying to say. So, I use they.