She as opposed to He, Word Choice

I was reading an essay by Paula Gottlieb when I noticed that Ms Gottleib used She instead of He when the gender was immaterial. I paused there and wondered why I should notice such a thing, what does it mean and how important a thing is pronoun choice? Is there anything we can or should do?

The first part of that question; why should I notice, is easily answered; It is the nature of human beings to ignore sameness and notice difference or less appetizing I noticed it because it seemed wrong. I'm used to the default use of He. In my writing, where the pronoun is left to choice I inevitability pick He. Most everything I read, whether the writer is a man or a women, the pronoun of choice seems to be He. Of course that might have more to do with what I read rather than an actual representation of pronoun choice.

So why the use of He over She, when gender is irrelevant? A man may be more likely to unconsciously choose He, but that would not answer to why would a women might use He more often. It might be that writing has been a predominately a male occupation since its inception; the under representation of women in writing turning habit into convention. Over time He has attained the air of "rightness" over She. It is part of the legacy of a male centered world; along side Man, meaning men and women or a sexless God referred to in the male gender.

What does it mean that He is the unofficial convention? Does using He for instance, alter the way we see the world. I think it so and in a similar way that casting characters in movies did and still does. When all Doctors, no matter how integral to a story are all white males; it is saying something about being a Doctor. It is an unconscious expression that the profession is not for minorities or women. I stress the word unconscious because I don't think such conventions are/were deliberate, they merely reflect established notions. The predominate use of the pronoun He over represents the concept of maleness; reducing the space for femaleness. Unconsciously or not in conceding space to one gender reduces the notion of equal participation in what ever milieu the writing takes place.

This is a problem that will find resolution over time. The male voice isn't better suited for conveying ideas; the choice of He over She arose from the predominance of male writers. Educators can create assignments that call for the use of the female pronoun to young writers, male or female. This has the effect of normalizing the She; making it a legitimate choice for regardless of the writers gender. I expect that with the increased participation of women in writing it is only a matter of time before a new equilibrium is found. The hoped for end are writers conveying their message in the voice that is most natural to them, or to the story they are telling. And that She never comes as a surprise to anyone.