Epicene Pronouns—Obliterate, Slash, or Pluralize?

Abstract

To the Editor.— Legitimate concern over sex bias in JAMA was recently expressed by Ms Lorimer-Lundberg 1 when she assailed Dr Kellner 1 for the use of nongeneric masculine pronouns such as he to signify he or she . Nevertheless, I must agree with Dr Kellner that use of the nonsexist he/she or himself/herself is rather clumsy and choppy and disrupts a smooth writing style. I have found that a far more acceptable epicene pronoun is s/he or him/erself . These are eminently readable and flowing, and while they are still cause for pause, this should resolve with increased use.