[chrismeller]

Or at least pick one and stick with it. Traditionally it would be "she".

It wasn't important in this case, but my brain kept flipping back to the previous item to make sure I hadn't made a mistake in reading. Ordinarily it is pretty important to the narrative.

[Kronopath]

Preemptive apologies for potentially stepping in a land mine, but… "traditionally" under what tradition?

Typically in older literature "he" has been used as the neutral pronoun when gender is unknown or unimportant. I've seen a more recent movement towards use of "she", but I don't think I'd say it's "traditional". Am I missing something?

[chrismeller]

Ok... I've seen a lot of publications go with "she" (as in ships, inanimate objects, etc.), but I couldn't possibly care enough to argue.

The Chicago Manual of Style does say "he" (though they prefer "he or she").

[Kronopath]

Fair enough. I've seen "she" used for ships and the like as well, though I've always found that a little sexist myself, as if it were equating women with inanimate objects. In the end I don't care much either, I was just wondering, since I have seen some more recent articles and publications move towards using "she" as a generic pronoun, but I've always attributed that to the influence from modern feminist movements.

My personal preference is for singular "they", for what it's worth.

[legohead]

traditionally it's "he", unless you are reading D&D manuals