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MacronNotes (Captain)
2020-06-07 10:19:28

There is no official rules on it.

Gendered writing doesn't bother me and I personally don't every article like that needs to be rewritten but rule of thumb is probably that it is best to be gender neutral unless the trope is gender specific.

Edited by MacronNotes Macron's notes
Powoga Since: May, 2016
2020-06-07 10:24:57

Yeah, that sounds about right. Thanks for the answer.

WaterBlap Since: May, 2014
2020-06-07 10:27:58

There aren't official rules on which to use first, other than maybe "first come, first serve" like with American vs British spellings. Some people in TLP will use "he or she" or the singular they, or the generic masculine. I have also seen the feminine pronoun used in this way. The "sexist language" argument tends to have a point, though, rather than merely "someone used a gendered pronoun."

More important than which pronoun to use, however, is that the given pronoun is grammatical. In the past, people have had a Single-Issue Wonk about gendered pronouns and in their attempts at Righting Great Wrongs have changed phrasing like "he is" to "they is," which of course is incorrect.

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razorrozar7 Since: Aug, 2010
2020-06-07 23:12:26

i was involved in a discussion about this a while ago and the consensus at the time was that "whatever was used first stays", similar to UK vs US spellings. ill see if i can dig that up.

Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
razorrozar7 Since: Aug, 2010
2020-06-08 02:24:53

found it https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/query.php?parent_id=79760&type=att

but i was incorrect about consensus, none was reached and it was advised that it be taken to the forums. i don't think anyone actually did that but i could be wrong.

Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
WarJay77 (Troper Knight)
2020-06-08 09:41:19

The only time I really think we'd need to worry about changing it is when the pronouns in the description are actively misleading, like if they imply a trope is Always Male when it isn't; that said, as a personal preference I lean to always using gender-neutral pronouns and think using them is a good idea, but as there's really no rule either way it's not a big deal to me either way.

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birdsinthewindow Since: Apr, 2019
2020-06-11 12:21:16

My personal opinion is that gender neutral language should always be used, but I think that it doesn't matter enough to get into fights over it. Any attempt to create a rule would honestly have more heated arguments and edit wars than it's worth.

ChloeJessica Since: Jun, 2020
2020-06-11 12:42:32

^ "progress is bad because it makes bigots upset" is not a valid argument.

Benbeasted Since: Sep, 2013
2020-06-12 01:00:37

I'd say that if anyone wants to convert pronouns to gender neutral terms, they could do so if they're inclined to spend the energy. Reverting them back to non-neutral terms, however, should be disallowed.

SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
2020-06-12 01:59:16

MacronNotes did cover the question in the OP. The rest of the discussion needs to happen in Wiki Talk.

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