With Feathered Photography I face a dilemma when choosing pronouns referencing the sex of individual birds. In a recent comment a reader took exception to the way I handle it so I think it’s high time I explain why I deal with it the way I do. I’ve done it before in comments but never as the subject of a blog post.
Below is the portion of her comment that referenced my typical choice of pronouns. She did it gently but publicly so I feel compelled to respond.
- “I just have a small nit to pick, if I may: your birds of “unknown sex” seem to be called “he” much more frequently than “she”.
I know that this is your wonderful blog.
I’m just saying that I notice this, and I personally would prefer “it” to “he all the time”.”
First, the problem. And then I’ll explain why I handle it the way I do.
It’s relatively easy to distinguish sex in many adult birds and American Kestrels are a good example because males and females show several obvious differences. Among them are the blue-gray wings of the male…
that the female kestrel doesn’t share. There are other obvious differences between them too.
But in many species the sexes are virtually identical except sometimes for small differences in size. Black-billed Magpies for example are physically indistinguishable by sex unless the viewer sees a male and female together where the size difference may (or may not) be obvious. In this species males are larger than females so the male of this nesting pair is on the left. In some species, many raptors for example, females tend to be larger than males.
In other species there are physical differences (other than size) between the sexes but they are often subtle and easily missed. The bill of female Western Grebes is a little shorter and thinner than that of the male and her mandible has a slight curve which gives the bill a somewhat upturned appearance. Males have a straight bill. Here the male is on the right.
So here’s the dilemma. What pronoun do I use to refer to a bird whose sex I’m not sure of?
- The obvious and easiest solution is to just use the gender nonspecific ‘it” instead of ‘he’ or ‘she’ and that’s exactly what I often do when it’s a shorter blog post. But ‘it’ becomes too impersonal, awkward and distracting when used repeatedly in a long post. The last thing I want is awkward and distracting elements in my text so in longer posts I won’t use it repeatedly.
- Another option is ‘(s)he’ but I won’t use it repeatedly in the same post either, for the same reasons as above. Same goes for substituting short phrases like ‘the bird’ or “the hawk”, I won’t do it repeatedly in longer posts.
- I could just refer to every bird as ‘he’ or ‘she’ indiscriminately but when I don’t really know the sex that goes against every grain in my scientific body.
- Or I could do what I usually do with longer posts and refer to the bird as either ‘he’ or ‘she’ with this explanation in parenthesis the first time I use the chosen pronoun in the post – “I don’t really know the sex of this bird”. That lets the reader know that I don’t really know the sex and when I continue to use that pronoun it becomes obvious that I’m just trying to avoid awkwardness in my text.
But with that last option the question then becomes which pronoun to use, ‘he’ or ‘she’. I’ve used them both in the past but most often I’ve used ‘he’, as the commenter above pointed out. I’ve done that for a reason and it has nothing to do with political incorrectness.
The last thing I want to do is imply that a bird is one sex or the other when I have no idea what it is. When ‘he’ is used in the context of birds many folks don’t even think of it as being gender specific. I see evidence of that daily, in social media and elsewhere, when people use ‘he’ when they obviously misidentify or don’t know the sex. They rarely do that with ‘she’ – when they use the feminine pronoun they nearly always get it right. So I use ‘he’ most often in an effort to avoid misleading as many readers as possible. When I use ‘she’ it fairly screams to the reader that the bird is positively a female. And on those rarer occasions when I use ‘she’ I make extra effort and use more text to explain what I’ve done but once again that becomes awkward so I use the masculine pronoun more often than I do the feminine.
So there you have it. That’s my ‘logic’, for what it’s worth. There are no perfect solutions that I know of but if you’re aware of one that would work for me I’d be thrilled to know about it. Many long-term readers know I’ve struggled with this issue for years but newer readers are likely unaware of that history.
As my good friend Hieronymus Bosch said in a comment to this post on Facebook, “English needs a gender neutral pronoun.” I strongly agree!
Ron
PS – another ‘housekeeping’ item. I have WordPress set up so that first time comments have to be approved. After that comments from the same person are automatically approved and appear immediately. But for the last few months WordPress has been screwing up occasionally and not automatically approving comments even from long time blog followers. So if you’ve noticed that your comment doesn’t show up until after I’ve approved it, that’s why.
Sorry, so far I’ve been unable to resolve the problem.
Hi Ron,
In german, nouns have male/female/neutral articles associated. According to German, “the bird”, translates to “der bird” meaning it is a “masculine noun”. https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/die-der-das/ Since English is a germanic language, I find that although not many English speakers realize the “gender” of their nouns, it seems they intuitively notice it. For instance, “the dog” is “der hund”, a masculine noun, so many people use “he” as the pronoun for describing the sex of a dog (“he’s such a good boy”). The only time I notice variants is when the person owns a female dog. You can always say that you intuitively understood that at the germanic root of the word, it was a masculine noun.
I am dismayed that anyone would mention such a trivial thing over him, her, it. Who cares??? Look at the beautiful photo and I enjoy it!! This is not an English forum. It’s a Photo based forum and a darn good one.
It is insane to even mention things like that. Ron is posting out of the good of his heart.
It has been awhile since I studied English, but the word “it” is “gender neutral”. Why go to so much trouble “inventing” a synonym for it?
Because so many folks think it’s too impersonal and even denigrating to call an animal they have strong positive feelings about an “it”. They might use the term for a mosquito or a trout but not for a pet, a spouse or even birds. Right or wrong a lot of people feel that way.
And I don’t think anyone wants an exact synonym for “it”.
It drives me nuts when friends refers to their pets as “it.” They know the sex and should properly call it him or her. But in this case, count me in the apparently very small minority who would love to see a gender neutral term used. One of the common ones I hear these days is “ze” or “xe” (pronounced “zee”). It clearly connotes a singular entity and makes no assumptions about gender or sex. I believe that’s what you’re trying to convey–you know the species but not the sex–yet when you revert to the norm of saying “he”, we subconsciously think of male. That’s why many of us are trying to transition away from words such as “fireman”, “policeman” and such. It colors our thinking and underlying assumptions and reinforces stereotypes. As many have said, it’s your blog and whatever you do will be the right choice for you. Thanks for your openness to having a dialog.
I wish we had a gender neutral term too, Linda. The ones you mention are new to me so I’d say they haven’t caught on, at least not yet.
And I agree with you about “fireman” and “policeman” reinforcing stereotypes.
Without the dialogue we’ll never come to a consensus on this so thanks for your contribution. I hope we reach that consensus during my blogging career… 🙂
An interesting perspective on the topic:
“I’ve noticed that whenever I refer to a crow as a she in conversation, I am invariably asked, ‘How do you know it’s a female?’ However, if I refer to a bird as a he, no one ever asks how I know it’s a male — not ever.”
from ‘Crow Planet’, by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Back when I used to bird-blog, I’d alternate pronouns on different days. Just for my own amusement.
Naomi, your quote illustrates one of my points perfectly. Thank you.
Ron, I love your Blog the way it is. That person has no right to comment on the way you write and if she can’t accept it the way it is then she can take her nit somewhere els. My sister was just stating with humans if she couldn’t tell the gender by voice, she would check shoes but that doesn’t work anymore. Just be you Ron, most appreciate you for you!
Ron, the comment by this reader has bothered me all day.
“I just have a small nit to pick, if I may” is insulting to me. Why does this person think that their “cute” and insulting comment to you, and all of us is welcome on your blog? I am very offended by it, particularly in this era of “me-two” and think this person should connect with a different site so all of us can continue to enjoy your blog without her comments.
Ron, thanks for sharing your wonderful photos and knowledge with us. My Mother taught me that if you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say it.
You feel more strongly about it than I do, Alice. She has a different view than many of the rest of us but she made her point politely which I appreciated. And I’m certainly not against readers expressing differing opinions on Feathered Photography.
It isn’t something I’d have done in this situation but I’m not her.
My primary point with publishing that post was to explain how I handle the situation and why I do it the way I do.
Ron, thanks for your reply. Perhaps I went a little over board – sorry. However, I might just be a little tired of the protests and movements and voiced it here.
I commend you for being so respectful of all and for being what I would call a great and kind person to all. Thank you.
I agree with you Alice. I’m so tired of the protesters and such now. And to have that behavior on this excelleant blog is crazy. Linda
Correction -” Why is it that the English language…” Sheesh! Sometimes its hard for him to type.
Thank you all for a needed intelligent and insightful discussion of a thorny recurrent toe-stubber.
Sallie Reynolds – wonderful distillation!
Ron – leading the way through the thickets.
I was banging my head against this the other day and I appreciate this pathway of illumination.
Why is it with that the English language, so rich in its wealth of descriptors, falls so short on this frequented point?
Here’s to better times for all!
Dave, I just don’t understand why we don’t have a gender neutral pronoun that’s appropriate for the situation!
Thd pronoun HE is almost universally used by almost every country, every language in the world when gender is in doubt…but I bet you knew that….
I have a great solution! That ought to please HER…JUST REFER TO ALL BIRDS AS “SHE-IT”…YOU JUST COMBINE ALL THE PRONOUNS INTO ONE !!! BRILLIANT, if I must say so myself!!! (sometimes I’m so damned smart, I make myself sick!!!)
Would that be “she-it on a shingle” or “she-it howdy?” 😉
Being the fikthy, foul-mouthed old bat that I am, I’ll go with what’s on the shingle😉
She-it, that’s the way we used to use it on the farm when we really wanted emphasis!
I support you choices completely. I actually find it rather surprising that anyone would “nit-pick” anything about your blog–photographs or commentary/narrative. Your thoughtfulness, care, dedication to science and education, and your extraordinary generosity shines through in all of your posts. Done gently or not by the reader, I feel the comment is tantamount to a dinner guest telling their host that they would have preferred their meal prepared differently….and, BTW, I’m a woman and I use “he” all the time when referring to an animal of unknown gender.
Loved your comment, Sharon! All of it.
Hi- Just want to say I agree with Sharon Stone. I was taught that “He” would be proper when the sex is not known. No big deal to me and some people want to make a mountain out of a mole hill. The person needs to move on and get over it.!!
Thanks, Trudy. I thought she made her point politely and gently, she just disagrees with many of us.
I’m coming in late and therefore haven’t read all the comments. Please excuse me if I simply have made the same suggestion as someone else did.
“What pronoun do I use to refer to a bird whose sex I’m not sure of?” That is easy use he/she or she/him or any combination that will go with the sentence you write. We as males tend to think as males, and females I am sure tend to think as females. You will satisfy all by including both sexes in your blog write-ups.
Just my opinion.
Great post by the way!
Thanks for the suggestion, Dick. That works for me in a short post but in a long one where I have to use it again and again I don’t like to use it because it quickly becomes distracting to the reader.
I also like the way you handle the sex of birds and you should keep doing it this way. No living creature should be called “it”. This political correctness really needs to stop.
Thank you, Debbie.
Ron, as a long term reader I have always liked your way around the he/she issue. It is horrible. No birds are an “it”.
Probably with all the human animal gender issues currently we will get a new pronoun for anyone or anything.
Kestrels sure make it easy—just saying
Diana
I hope we get that new pronoun soon, Diana. It would sure make life easier for me.
Well Ron, you really struggled with this one. Now I will be ever so self-conscious when I use “it” for the umpteenth time as it is so impersonal and inanimate.
It’s been a tough one for me over the years with Feathered Photography, Ken. In my view there are no easy answers.
An interesting thing to me is that many default to “he” for dogs and “she” for cats. Gender is a huge issue in my world. I’ve got a wealth of friends who were born one gender then became another. But I get where you are coming from. I think my kneejerk reaction has been elevated by 45 reasons. 😉 Carry on, professor. Carry on. Thank you for addressing this.
I’ll have to watch for that cat/dog thing you mention, Arwen. Don’t think I’ve ever noticed it. Thank you.
Sigh. I am very conscious of pronouns at the moment. My voluntary work has brought me into contact with a person who is transitioning between genders. Pronouns are hugely important to her. Getting it wrong offends her and upsets her so I do my best. Birds on the other hand don’t give a rat’s fundament which one we use.
For what it is worth (less than two cents) I say keep on as you are.
Thanks, EC. Sounds like you’re in a bit of a ticklish situation…
Hi EC. I think it’s awesome that you care enough to worry about this. It is important to your transgender person because the wrong pronoun says, “hey. You aren’t passing” and that’s a huge wound. So thank you from a trans ally.
Thank you Arwen. Of course I care. And do my best not to hurt people carelessly or unintentionally. A work in progress.
This was a most graceful and thoughtful response to a non-issue. Though of course, once it was broached, you did have to respond. I am so glad you are not going to fall back on “it.” For the good of the world and its denizens (that’s a proper use of “it,” no?), better by far for a human to identify a non-human as “he” or “she” rather than the denigrating “it.” We have for eons considered other species as “its” (pl), and that has let us slaughter individuals in those species, often for reasons no more thoughtful than “because we could.” He and she and we and they ascribe living being-hood to the creatures so described. “It” allows us to continue in the wrongheaded thought that “it doesn’t feel pain, it doesn’t know it is alive, it doesn’t have emotions.” And other nonsense. Yes, for millennia women have been denied full humanity, and we should go to all possible lengths to correct that – but we must stop at denigrating other species. We’ll outlive them, alas, but the attempt to bring their value to the planet to the forefront is worth more than other battles. For them and for all of us. Women can take up for themselves and are now doing so. The birds cannot. So thanks for the explanation, and the gorgeous pictures, and please do go on going on!
Sallie, I strongly agree that use of ‘it’ in this situation is denigrating, especially when done repeatedly. Thanks for the interesting perspective.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Excellent distillation of the real issue, Sallie — thank you for stating it so eloquently!
PLEASE, dear Ron, carry on as you have been and we can all go back to focusing where we should, on bird photos, behaviors & biology that you are so generous to share! I admit I like to see an occasional “she” in the mix, but only because I’m hoping that great-looking bird IS identifiable as female (and you’ll tell us why). And my English major/editor self BEGS you not to start using “they” as a personal pronoun. Also, no cutting of birds in half, as Everett suggests Solomon might propose.
P.S. Thanks for lovely kestrel, magpie and grebe images to illustrate your lesson today, Perfesser! 😁
“carry on as you have been”
I plan to, Chris. So far no one has provided a better option. Thank you.
This is a “FIRST” ..your first silly blog…all the others have been GREAT!!! Who cares (and why what one nitpicker objects to what YOU choose to call your images…just call it “IT” , if you aren’t sure of the gender–and know that someone will no doubt object to that…SO WHAT!!!). Nice series of images, my favorites are the magpies, but slso like the kestrels…
….and I’ll probably continue to use “he” (and I won’t give a fllying f— who doesn’t like!!!😊
Patty, in this situation I felt “silly” was necessary. Still do…
SILLY is definitelty the operative word…the only one that fits…must admit I am impressed but a bigger nit picker than one Ron Dudley, though(didn’t know one existed!). PLEASE tell that silly OTHER nit picker to concentrate her (I’m sure it’s a her–with too much time on her hands) to turn her energies to what’s happening to our country…and everything we all stand for and value…birds, he, she and it, included….😇
Wonderful shots and explanations. I would suggest however that is this is all you have to worry about, you are indeed lucky!
Charlotte
Believe me, Charlotte – it isn’t all I have to worry about…
☹️
At the risk of sounding ignorant and flippant, I don’t understand where misappropriating the gender of a bird when the sex is unknown is considered sexist. Best efforts are always made to provide correct identification and when it is known it is stated. If not for the sake of convenience, is it patriarchal to say “he” and matriarchal to say “she”? Are people really that sensitive to gender and gender neutrality that we must now include “it” among the options in bird sexing, until the sex is known definitively, as part of the current human gender/language debate? Perhaps it is a matter of choice what word is used based on the sex of the person attempting the identification, or is that silly? He said “he”, She said “she” and They said “it”.
Robert, the biologist and teacher in me wants to get gender ID as “right” as possible without confusing or misleading my readers. Right or wrong some take those gender cues literally and others interpret them differently.
Ron, I appreciate what you are saying in reply. Still, I find the suggestion of gender-bias in your use of the word “he” unfounded, tiresome and distracting. I agree with Susan. I am sorry for my clumsy and perhaps silly comments when it is my intention to show support and encouragement for your beautiful photography and intelligent commentary. Keep up the great work!
I reread the post in which your choice of pronouns was questioned. I mentally substituted other gender desrcriptors and remain convinced that you have taken the most tactful, elegant and concise approach.
Your last sentence describes perfectly how I feel, Lyle. When I read text, my own or from other writers, that use that awkward style it makes me wince. And begin to lose interest because I find it distracting.
I must be getting old-er…I’ve never even thought about the subject of pronouns…I just enjoy the hell out of your blog…couldn’t agree with Marty K more….I’ve learned more through your blogs and pictures regarding birds and their behavior and I would like to thank you for that. The Kestrels are so beautiful I see the male as commanding and the female as a little coquettish…but that’s just me…
What a nice thing to say, Steve. Thank you.
I am of an age where I early on became used to seeing “he” as the pronoun of choice for those of unknown gender. I’m thinking that the person whose comment motivated this post is much younger and/or takes your use of “he” personally for whatever reason. Your explanation of people correctly identifying females is fascinating. Bottom line, I’ve never had any problem with your choice of pronoun. You always explain it, and IMO that should be enough.
“You always explain it, and IMO that should be enough”
That’s been my theory too, Susan. And I’ll probably stick with it in my posts.
In some circumstances, I write “s/he.” In other circumstances, when I can’t tell, I default to “he.” With the raven pair I see regularly, I can now tell which is the female, but I can’t reliably tell you what the distinguishing characteristics are, except that they are behavioral, and the two have different personalities. When they are together, it’s easy, the male is bigger and more dominant, and the female squats to make herself lower than he. But when they are apart, the female is bolder, braver, funnier, and more engaging. On the other hand, both the male and the female try to teach me raven sounds when they get me alone, and each will follow me around. Someone told me to look at the foot size but that doesn’t really help me. http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/505/use_morphometrics_raven_2008.pdf
I dunno. Of all the things about which I worry, the ice is melting comes first. I figure if I offend someone, I can apologize, as in shoot first, ask questions later.
Loved your last sentence, Martha. It’s all about perspective and priorities isn’t it.
My 25 year old nephew tells me that the gender-neutral pronoun of choice for those who identify as trans-, other-, non-, or multii- gendered is “they,” even for a singular person. It does become vague when they are just one but could be two or more, but apparently this is less objectionable than being called an incorrect gender. It bothers this old English major, but not so much I’d not use it. I personally prefer my own gender-neutral pronoun choice, repurposing the archaic word “ye,” which isn’t getting a strong workout these days!
Very interesting comment, Mary. Maybe “ye’ needs to be recycled…
As the aging offspring of an old school English teacher, it is very hard for me to change the way I use pronouns. I have always used them the way you do with “he” being the fall back, essentially neutral, position. However, my college and high school aged acquaintances are beginning to convince me that assuming the gender of anyone unknown to me is rude and presumptuous. “They” has a long history of use as an English language singular pronoun. “Someone dropped a $100 bill. They will be upset.” I am trying to use “they” in my speech and writing now. At times it sounds clunky and forced to me but I hope it also sounds tolerant, which I think is a badly needed sound these days! Your Kestrel photos manage to capture the arrogance of the male and the quietness of the female. Am I making that up? Probably but they are great photos.
Porcupine
Funny! I didn’t see your post before I wrote mine. Great minds?
I do love the example photos, Ron! And you are kind to let us go off topic this way.
The way you used ‘they’ sounds natural to my ear, Porcupine. That’s something I just took for granted but I’d never thought about it. Thanks for pointing it out.
I figure if singular ‘they’ was good enough for Shakespeare and Jane Austen, it’s good enough for me.
Hear, hear!
I learned something about Western Grebes today. 🙂
Good!
Me, too!
Having been to Ireland, learned that when you see a Magpie you must said Good Morning, it is good luck, also on the blue part of the wings a Fairy is riding. People laugh at this, you don’t laugh at customs, and when we saw them we did say Good Morning, Good Day, you know you feel good. I also recall with the Cascades Raptor Center received an Eagle from a Nebraska Reserve that had to close, they said the Eagle was a Male, Louise and her staff thought otherwise, did blood work, and it was a female. Once again I will say your pictures belong in a book, they are so outstanding, your so very good.
Louise Shimmel at CRC is very, very good. Thanks for the very kind words, Steven.
I LOVE the idea of a fairy riding on the wing!
Great photos to use as examples Ron. My opinion is that Feathered Photography is a blog to show us beautiful bird and wildlife photography as well as to educate us regarding same. You should never have to concern yourself with grammar, pronouns, 100% correct sex identification etc. When I send a bird photo to someone where I do not know the sex I often start off by saying he/she, but then if I have to continue to refer to the bird I generally go with he or she depending on my best guess. I really dislike it as an identifier. I say that if the blogger is female let she be the primary identifier and if blogger is male – then he can be the correct choice. Maybe the Wisdom of Solomon would call for us to cut the bird in half. 🙂
Everett Sanborn. Prescott AZ
“Maybe the Wisdom of Solomon would call for us to cut the bird in half.”
That made me smile, Everett. Thanks for that…
Sounds quite logical to me! If I know the sex…great, if not…it’s ‘it’ or ‘he’ usually. Unless it is a particularly handsome bird, then (he) or pretty one (she) that I can’t differentiate and then I am being sexist but I don’t think the bird cares. On to those beautiful photos…wow! Those kestrels are both fantastic…I would say you hit perfection with both! ❤️ Love the coy look of the female. The magpies too are perfection. Something I’ve noticed with some bird species and I don’t know why it’s only some…is the ‘smoothness’ of the feathers. (I don’t know if that is the correct word to describe it but that’s what comes to mind). The feathers seem to take on the look of velvet, as if they have meshed tightly with each other. Other birds seem to show each individual feather. At first I thought it was just the birds with white or black but I’ve seen that occurrence with Mourning Doves and a few others. Oh well…another conundrum to puzzle over.🤔
“but I don’t think the bird cares”
Interesting point, Kathy.
The phenomenon you mention about bird feathers is pretty well known among at least some bird photographers. Owls and waxwings in particular show very little feather detail in photos because their feathers are so “smooth”.
……………SIGH…………..is right ! I have an option which is ONE STROKE LESS cumbersome than “(s)he”, and that is the one I most often use —–s/he——-for what it’s worth !
Thanks, Kris. Yes, that’s yet another option.
“SIGHHH!” which wasn’t my initial reaction to this “nit picking” about gender was 😉 I agree with Marty 100%. That being said this isn’t an advanced class in bird biology tho I certainly have learned a lot along those lines. My interest is in the photo’s and, as a side note a biology lesson. Using “it” for instance rather than he/she, male/female if the sex in unknown would seem to me to make the birds a “thing” rather than the wonderful living breathing creatures they. Hopefully those “concerned” about it can gain some perspective and “move on” to enjoy your post for what it is………
I agree, Judy. Repeated use of ‘it’ is just too impersonal and somehow… cold (for lack of a better word).
Ron, there isn’t a problem with the way you address this. Just continue your blog as is. It’s wonderful.
I appreciate that, Carol. Thanks.
My first thought was, “Your blog. Your pronouns.” 😉 And with that being said, I also appreciate “Your explanation.” 😎 Seriously, there are many more significant gender issue battles to wage than a photography blog (i.e., the misogynist in the White House and the sexual assaulter and harasser on the Supreme Court — 2/9, how lovely.) Feel free to edit out, Ron.
As for the lab yesterday, I needed more luck. The earthquake drill during 2nd period sure didn’t help either. 😱 We’ll be finishing it up today, so I hope things are a bit calmer. We’ve got some slight Santa Ana conditions which makes the perfect environment for static electricity. The kids are shocked (no pun intended) at all the cool stuff they can do with a charged comb or ballpoint.
Absolutely no need to ‘edit out’, Marty – especially in the context of this post. I appreciate your perspective and agree with it.
I remember having labs interrupted by things like unannounced fire drills. It’s so very disrupting and maddening!!!