But you have to see that this is exactly what the OP is proposing, right? Yes, the blanket approach is wrong, and the status quo of language should absolutely evolve to keep up with social progress - and it sometimes does, whereas in other cases it lags behind and needs a kick. But I think where we disagree is that I don't necessarily see a new blanket approach as a good substitute for an old one. Because as I've said multiple times, I don't believe you can be objective about language.
I've also acknowledged - and I'll do it again - that emotions run high when the language status quo has accentuated people's feelings of marginalisation or exclusion. If, as Astro has implied, they are non-binary and don't like being referred to in a collective as "boys" then obviously that's valid; I'd never have done that anyway, but if it's a common occurrence then it must feel awful. But as quite a few people, myself included, have pointed out, Astro is talking about subjectivity (and only their subjectivity) but proposing objectivity as the solution. That is where this thread should rightly hook into a broader conversation, but again, if this is not the place to have that conversation then I accept that I've overstepped the bounds of the original discussion.
