No, and it’s frustrating for people who had it hammered into their reading and writing habits all through school. I can’t read a singular “they” without mentally tripping on it.
> No, and it’s frustrating for people who had it hammered into their reading and writing habits all through school. I can’t read a singular “they” without mentally tripping on it.
If you mean "no" in the sense that this specific sentence isn't true:
> Hasn’t it always been the case that you could use “they” as a way to refer to a singular human without implying any gender?
then you are mistaken, as sibling comments point out. Certainly there is a history of teaching people not to use singular 'they' (I don't know how long, but I was certainly taught it), but people have actually been using singular 'they' for a long, long time, and usage trumps fiat at least in English.
