So, English Composition... Gotta read up on how to write an evaluation paper. (Which, I might add, is going to be on the controversy of my field... Windows Vista!) So I was reading my little FAQ pocket book dealy, which gives direct examples of what and what not to do, and right there on section 10: Nonexistent Language. Okay, what's this? I read a little more:

Language that favors the male noun or pronoun or excludes females is sexist.

Wait, what? What's the title of this section again? Oh! NonSEXIST Language. That's right, there's a whole section on how not to use words like "person" instead of "man" and "people" instead of "mankind" because some people find it offensive. Excuse me, what? Come again? I'm supposed to active avoid using these words because someone might go on a tangent and assume I'm being sexist? Riiiight!

Let me tell you a little something about the real world. Whatever gender you are? That's what you automatically identify with. (Well, barring some very, very confused people.) You're a guy? You're going to write examples with "his" instead of "theirs". You're a gal? You're going to write examples with "hers" instead of "theirs". It just comes naturally. Is it improper? Well, yes, technically, it is a little improper to assign someone a specific gender when you're talking about the "idea" of a person. In my mind, I always used "they" or "their" because I was just logically aware that if anyone could fit the profile, and gender wouldn't matter. It just makes you sound a little more aware of ideas. But to assume that such a thing is actively sexist and you should avoid it because it's offensive? Preposterous.

I also find it very intriguing that every single one of their examples was for men. Different variations of referring to someone as a male. Let me show you something from last semester... A little book called Network+ Guide to Networks, Fourth Edition, by... Wait for it. Tamara Dean. Clearly someone of the female variety, wouldn't you agree? What is it completely full of? Phrases that resemble "when the network administrator troubleshoots the router, she..." and "a user is having trouble signing in to the computer, even though she..." Get the idea? If you're going to make a huge deal out of language being sexist, the least you can do is be fair about it. As if men are only writers who do this? Give me a break.

Actually, I'm just going to ignore this entire section. It's ludicrous.

It's pretty awesome when you think a series is over for the season, but then you find out that there's actually one episode left, and it's ready for download to watch. Primeval rocks.