"X's widower"

[David Bowie]

From:    Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>

> Are there many - or any - people still around who learned as I did
> that a baby is an "it" and not a "he" or a "she"?

My Gen-X self, for one.

Actually, it's a bit more nuanced than that, as i use it: A fetus is an
it, and a baby is a he or a she if its sex is known, but otherwise it is
completely polite to refer to a baby as an it.

I have, however, run into people who find that referring to babies (and
even fetuses) as its is somewhere just this side of murdering your
dinner guests in terms of politeness.

--
David Bowie                               University of Central Florida
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.

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