“Use gender-neutral language” is motivated by an egalitarian instinct, and is said by (moral) authorities—both are things libertarians don’t seem very fond of.
(I don’t identify very strongly as a libertarian, but can relate to the kneejerk reflex against being told what to do)
Also, some people might not phrase it as “people started realizing why that was a bad idea” but rather as “sanctimonious politically correct busybodies started telling everybody how to speak resulting in some horrible eyesores like he/she or ey all over the place”. I don’t really buy the second version , but I don’t think the first one is a fair description either (though it’s hard to judge from a French point of view, gender and grammar work a bit differently in French).
“Use gender-neutral language” is motivated by an egalitarian instinct, and is said by (moral) authorities—both are things libertarians don’t seem very fond of.
(I don’t identify very strongly as a libertarian, but can relate to the kneejerk reflex against being told what to do)
Also, some people might not phrase it as “people started realizing why that was a bad idea” but rather as “sanctimonious politically correct busybodies started telling everybody how to speak resulting in some horrible eyesores like he/she or ey all over the place”. I don’t really buy the second version , but I don’t think the first one is a fair description either (though it’s hard to judge from a French point of view, gender and grammar work a bit differently in French).