how to completely own an airline in 3 easy steps

Re:how to completely own an airline in 3 easy steps by tsimionescu on Friday January 20, 2023 @03:23AM (#34450409)

I agree with you on this, but I feel a need to note that "it" refers to non-persons, not just inanimate objects. It's perfectly normal to refer to animals as "it", and it is also quite common to use it for babies (and even more common for fetuses). Not that this makes it any less weird to ask to be referred as "it", mind you.

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Re:how to completely own an airline in 3 easy steps by ripdog on Friday January 20, 2023 @12:38PM (#34456640)

Thanks for the correction, you're quite correct.

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Re:how to completely own an airline in 3 easy steps by jupp0r on Friday January 20, 2023 @06:42PM (#34461818)

I've also seen it being used to refer to aliens. What's wrong with letting people choose their pronouns?

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Re:how to completely own an airline in 3 easy steps by tsimionescu on Saturday January 21, 2023 @03:56PM (#34470422)

Letting people choose whether to be referred to as men, women, or neutral (perhaps using neo-pronouns or singular them/they) is perfectly fine. But re-purposing existing words with other meanings is not. And "it" has a very specific meaning, one that just doesn't apply to conscious adult people. If I asked to be called "the object" that would not be a reasonable request, anymore than asking to be referred to as "it".

And particularly for "it" and other objectifying language, it has the huge problem that it makes other people uncomfortable. Especially those who overhear without being aware of your preference (imagine sending an email to a new client with text like "in my absence, contact my colleague X, it will assist you, it is an expert").

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