The Use of Singular They Among American English Speakers: Pronoun Choice, Role-Noun Stereotypes, and Speaker Attitudes.

Abstract The singular they has become an increasingly important feature of gender-inclusive English, offering a pronoun that does not restrict reference to male or female categories and allows individuals to be represented without assumptions about gender. This study investigates how American English speakers choose singular third-person pronouns when reading role nouns that differ in gender stereotyping and whether these choices relate to their attitudes toward sexist and nonsexist language. Forty native speakers of American English (aged 21-79, with education levels ranging from high school to PhD) completed an online questionnaire consisting of: (a) a pronoun-selection task based on 15 stereotyped role nouns adapted from Misersky et al.’s (2014) approach, supplemented with 15 filler questions; (b) an attitude scale constructed from the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Sexist/Nonsexist Language (IASNL) adapted from Parks & Roberton (2000); and (c) a demographic section including age, gender, and education. The findings show that the singular they was widely selected across most role nouns, particularly for neutral items. However, traditional gender stereotypes remained strongly visible: no participant used she for male-stereotyped roles such as heavy equipment operator, rapist, or bricklayer, and no participant used he for female-stereotyped roles such as nanny, beautician, or manicurist. These patterns indicate that stereotypical gender associations still influence pronoun selection, even when a fully neutral option is available. Pronoun use also varied across demographic groups. Young participants (under 35) used they considerably more (M = 11.33 out of 15) than participants aged 35 and older (M = 6.90), and a sharp contrast is observed between those under 50 (M = 11.20) and the 50+ group (M = 2.00). The Undergraduate group used they most frequently (M = 10.93), followed by high-school graduates (M = 8.08), while master’s-degree holders used they least (M = 7.31). Female participants also used they more often (M = 10.43) than male participants (M = 7.21). IASNL inclusivity scores on a 1-5 likert scale (mean score) were generally linked to more frequent use of they, but this pattern was not consistent across individuals: for example, one highly inclusive profile (IASNL-G = 4.62) selected they 0 times in the target set, whereas a lower-scoring profile (IASNL-G = 2.48) selected they 15 times, suggesting that language habits, stereotypes, and age-related factors can sometimes be stronger than explicit attitudes. A useful direction for future research is to explore whether simple training in gender-inclusive language can help reduce the influence of stereotypes and support more consistent use of neutral pronouns, including for non-binary individuals.