Posted: Oct 03, 2014 7:40 pm
VazScep wrote:When I started writing papers ten years ago, I used "she" everywhere. I got called up on it in review and told it was too distracting.
Ten years ago seems a bit late to me, but then again, the UK tends to be a bit more, well, you know. I still remember the day when the Times declared "Ms." unprintable.
In the US, I don't think anybody would even notice the use of "she" throughout, at least in Computer Science papers. Maybe it was a bit distracting in the VT-100 era, but those days are long gone.
In itself, this is kind of good. People get used to things and don't notice them any more.
When I was a kid in the 60's, there was a riddle. A father and his son are in a car crash. The father dies. The son is rushed to the hospital. The surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy. He's my son." How can this be?
I guess people were supposed to be puzzled and not think that the surgeon was his mother. Then I guess they were probably supposed to be ashamed of it. Or something. It was always obvious to me.
I don't think that riddle would get anybody these days, even the slowest thinkers, because nowadays female physicians are commonplace.