Quick Help: Editing out the generic use of {em}he{/em}, {em}his{/em}, or {em}him{/em}

Quick Help: Editing out the generic use of {em}he{/em}, {em}his{/em}, or {em}him{/em}

Editing out the generic use of he, his, or him

Every citizen should know his legal rights under the law.

Here are three ways to express the same idea without his:

  1. Revise to make the antecedent plural.

    All citizens should know their legal rights.

  2. Revise the sentence altogether.

    Every citizen should have some knowledge of basic legal rights.

  3. Use both masculine and feminine pronouns.

    Every citizen should know his or her legal rights.

The last option can be awkward when repeated several times in a passage.