I use "she" when I don't know the gender or "preferred pronoun" of a person in question. Is that bad? It was suggested to me as "polite" by some Cambridge graduates.
My personal pronoun is 'giant cock'. If I was in this situation and you assumed it was 'she', I would be offended.
Assuming it's a 'she' is also a form of automatically mis-gendering someone.
It's a way to be permanently offended I guess. I can play the game that my preferred pronoun is secret but if you don't read my mind and guess it correctly, you become my paper enemy and I will be very very meaninglessly upset in whichever microsecond I happen to think about you.
So are you suggesting because they’re Cambridge grads they are the authority on “polite?” I am not a Cambridge grad, but I find it quite rude to assume a gendered pronoun when one has not been provided.
I have no opinion; my mother tongue is not English and is much more flexible in this regard. I simply followed some well-meant advice from people I respect.
I disagree, i find it to be a point pf clarification but not rude. Perhaps I have a different cultural expectation than you do
Reading your profile I’m not sure your intentions in this comment. Rest assured I am not virtue signaling.
Generally I think it's best to stick with the pronouns that have already been used to refer to the individual (in this case "they").