Ah, but in those languages, and ours up til recently, male was the accepted gender-neutral default. We decided to change it, collectively, as part of the general nudging towards gender equality, but for many, many people, including me, it genuinely did not assume maleness to use he/him.
However, I thought it might subconsciously affect me in a reactionary conservative way to keep doing so in the face of a reasonable request to use they/them instead of he/him, so I consciously changed it.
I cannot say whether it works like that in other languages, though. French has all sorts of gender bullshit for chairs and lamps and whatever, who’s to say how it affects the mind?
Ah, but in those languages, and ours up til recently, male was the accepted gender-neutral default. We decided to change it, collectively, as part of the general nudging towards gender equality, but for many, many people, including me, it genuinely did not assume maleness to use he/him.
However, I thought it might subconsciously affect me in a reactionary conservative way to keep doing so in the face of a reasonable request to use they/them instead of he/him, so I consciously changed it.
I cannot say whether it works like that in other languages, though. French has all sorts of gender bullshit for chairs and lamps and whatever, who’s to say how it affects the mind?
Considering the reaction here, no, we did not collectively change to using gender neutral terms.
You don’t assume maleness if he/him is used?
Do you assume femaleness if she/her is used?