the last few days have been spent writing my final buddhism paper. (ok, so it has taken me more than just a few days… my writing WILL get better; determination is the key!) each nite, i have been reading school girls as a bedtime story. while reading mark’s comments on writing, i realized that i have always used the pronoun “he” when talking about a single non-gendered person. thinking back, i know this is because i always got in trouble for using “they” and “she” was never allowed in my formal writing classes. why? so as i was reading school girls, i also realized that even though i used “he,” the non-gendered character i envisioned had neither breasts nor penises. in addition, “it” never had hair. i firmly believe that this forcing of “he” only created a feeling within me emphasizing the super-importance as men, that they are the default sex. biologically, i know that is not true (as humans start out as women). how frustrating. i am determined to use “she” as much as possible now.
(Note: school girls is a non-fiction book about the confidence gap between men and women at puberty. it is an inside look at the difficulties that women experience and why they are so far behind men in many areas. it is a suberb book.)