Which one sentence you use more often?
* Nobody brought his book despite my request.
* No students brought their books despite my request.
* No students brought their books despite my request.
No matter what you used to prefer to say, I strongly suggest you using the latter one from now on.
I have read many grammar books; some of them are pretty good. They all point out: be careful not to make trouble due to sex discrimination.
I cannot blame anyone who uses the previous expression – it is correct at the level of grammar, but I, as well as many other people feel uncomfortable toward it. I am sensitive to such expressions. In fact, I really disgust it. I am female, but not a feminist; however, I should hold the situation for my own gender. I wonder why some words like “man,” “he,” “his,” etc. may refer both men and women, but “woman,” “she,” and “her” may not?
Sometimes, I really want to express something in singular forms, but each time I always meet a dilemma: how can I say in singular form while avoiding using sex-sensitive words? Of course, I may use “one,” “a person,” but what in case of possessive? I dislike the unsmoothness of repeating using “the person’s,” or “the one’s.” Eventually, I am sent back to the very beginning: I have got to use plural forms.
When I was a kid, I used to think about it: why children have the same surname as their fathers’? Simply, my mother told me “it’s our tradition.” Then I went into high school, I learned a term “extranuclear inheritance.” I proudly said to mother, “Females actually contribute more in human generating!” However, she did not respond as what I expected but only “Really? That sounds good!”
It is true that during entire human history, male beings got their priority through providing major labor works for the family, but does female beings’ contributions may be hence ignored? More directly, can a male have a child BY HIS OWN? Many people, especially some so-called scholars state that female beings, due to their own physical qualities, make themselves lower than male beings. How ridiculously! If females have the same qualities as males’, I am afraid that humans may not be too much better than any single-cell species; another fact is that even the E. coli has their sexual difference.
We have to put the equal amount of weight on each tray, or we lose the entire balance. We have to be temperate even toward something pertain to us, or we overload the trays and eventually break supporting bar. I will not argue against our ancestors’ usage, but I only wish all people in the current world could be more moderate.
Who does not want our little planet goes in perfect harmony? Everyone can achieve it, and everyone should realize the importance of using correct expressing. Avoid any potential uncomfortableness, and keep our world in a well balance. In one word, we are all classified in just one homo sapiens, aren’t we?