Anticipating the pronoun change

[dbskyler]

So I was randomly reading some entries about the Doctor, and happened to notice that the author used "he" and "him" even though the statements weren't tied to a particular Doctor or era. Which made me start to wonder: once Thirteen gets going, will we see start seeing generic statements about the Doctor that use "she" and "her"? Or will those pronouns only ever apply specifically to Thirteen?

Comments

[nostalgia]

I'm assuming it'll be "they" when she finally arrives on our screens.

[dbskyler]

That would be great!

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, I'm assuming (and seeing already) a lot more use of 'they' for the Doctor in general, which, actually, makes a lot of sense anyway, considering!

But when you're thinking foremost of the current incarnation, I could see it happening at least by accident, yes!

[dbskyler]

It does make a lot of sense, yes! I also wouldn't mind some random uses of "she" or even "he." I'm just hoping that "he" doesn't remain the overwhelming default.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Strictly speaking*, we ought now to be referring to the Doctor as they/them unless The Doctor specifically states otherwise. I actually saw someone doing this on Tumblr the other day, and got a little thrill at the sight.

(I saw this as someone's recently 'come out' at genderqueer.)

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen it yet, but I like that!

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

('I saw this'? Good grief! That was meant to say 'I say this'! Sheesh!)

*nods* It seems more appropriate. I mean, if you're specifically talking about 1 through 12, then yes, you can say he/him. But if you're talking of the Doctor without specifying which incarnation, I think it definitely ought to be they/them. And obviously she/her for 13 specifically.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. Also, while I agree that they/them can refer to a single person, which is why some genderqueer people use it as their preferred pronoun, it's actually quite appropriate for the Doctor to be referred to as multiple people -- they actually are!

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Yup!!!