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Stumbled along the use of the feminine pronoun for "baby". Previously, I've used it and singular they when the sex of the baby is unknown.

  • Is it correct to use the feminine pronoun (she) for "baby" when you don't know if it is a boy or a girl?
  • Can somebody please explain that to me?
  • Here's an example: "At about 6 months, when your baby can sit up, she'll probably be too big to be bathed in an infant tub" (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/baby-bathtubs/buying-guide.htm)
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  • Related:english.stackexchange.com/questions/28618/pronoun-it-for-baby
    – user66974
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 5:33
  • Related: Is “Is it a girl or a boy?” really calling the infant an “it”?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 5:38
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    Did you consider the possibility that the speaker or author used "she" because they knew the sex of the baby?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 5:42
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    If you stumbled along the use of the feminine pronoun for "baby", show us the sentences and link the page, please. How are we supposed to know when there is nothing? Please edit your question. Voting to put your question on hold.
    – user140086
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 5:56
  • Sometimes baby manuals will use "she" for the sake of simplicity, I remember I had one such manual and the pronoun "she" was used almost exclusively.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 6:30

1 Answer 1

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Personally I would call a baby it or they until they were born or you discover its sex, after which you then use that appropriate pronoun.

On a slightly related note, intersex and non-binary identifiers struggle with pronoun usage and they have found all sorts of alternative pronouns (Wikipedia) including the English they and them and the German zir. Perhaps this is some sort of blueprint that one could carry over to babies?

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  • Your personal opinion is a comment, not an answer. Also, your second paragraph reads more like a comment than an answer. Please refrain from posting a comment as an answer. When you have 50 reputation points, you will be able to post a comment.
    – user140086
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 6:08
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    Well that's strange, people upvoting my apology for ignorance has gotten me to the point at which I can now comment freely, thank you!
    – BladorthinTheGrey
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 6:20
  • No, it's the 2 upvotes on your answer that has now given you 50 points. Each upvote = 10 But I'm not overly keen on the link you posted. Isn't there a better one? To notify someone, so they receive a ping in their inbox, place @ + username. Everytime someone writes a comment under your answer, you will be notified.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 6:23
  • That's what I was talking about, sorry if I didn't make that clear
    – BladorthinTheGrey
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 6:25
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    They're related to one way of looking at the issue, but they're not strictly related
    – BladorthinTheGrey
    Commented Jul 12, 2016 at 6:35

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