Does the traditional English language favor the male gender?

Fact-checking a classic linguistic conspiracy theory

In traditional English, the only gendered elements are personal pronouns. Females are granted their own personal pronoun, while males are lumped together with people of unspecified or unknown gender. There are no English pronouns reserved for males or other genders.

• She - female personal pronoun, reserved for people known to be female, such as a specific female person or an unspecified member of a group composed exclusively of females

• He - indeterminate personal pronoun, applied to anyone not eligible for “she,” such as a specific male person, unspecified members of a group not exclusively female, or those of unspecified or unknown gender

Some people equate the indeterminate nature of “he” with an assumption that arbitrary people are male and that therefore the language favors the male gender. Yet, when a traditional English speaker hears “he,” he cannot know which gender is referred to, and he must rely on other context to determine it, if possible. This is objectively the opposite of assuming that arbitrary people are male.

People who assign male to the word “he” are not using proper traditional English. People making that assignment in judging this fact-check are begging the question.

Conclusion

NO, the traditional English language does not favor the male gender. Instead, it treats males the same as indeterminately gendered people.

The exclusive “she” is one of many privileges females enjoy in traditional English culture, along with entering first through doors, priority rescue from life-threatening emergencies, exemption from compulsory battlefield combat, and many others.

The notion that traditional English linguistic authority favors the male gender is a baseless conspiracy theory.

WHATTABOUT...

In casual speech, many speakers say “she” for an unspecified kindergarten teacher, nurse, or other member of a group that is overwhelmingly female. That usage is not strictly correct in traditional English, and so it lies outside the scope of this fact-check.

Adding untraditional genders only strengthens our case. Since the traditional “she” applies only to known females, all untraditional genders are lumped into “he,” along with the undetermined, unknown, and male—clearly less privileged. Augmenting or modernizing the language takes us again outside the scope of this fact-check, which is simply whether traditional English favors the male gender.

If one seeks a traditional language granting linguistic privilege to females, one need look no further than English.