Useless Apps + Political Correctness

In today's composition class I just taught the very American concept of "PC language." One focus/example was gender neutrality. I'm intrigued how one useless (but fun!) app on Facebook tackles this. Obviously, the app creators know the computer cannot determine the gender of the sender.

When I send a round to my Facebook pals, the label reads as follows:

Cynthia sent a Beer to their friends on Send a Round

This would get a big black X from teacher based on the subject/pronoun agreement error. One person cannot be "their." I correct sub/pro errors made by my writing students on a daily basis, even in the most advanced ESL levels. Curse those noncount nouns!

The first time I saw the Cynthia/their construction, I was irked beyond belief.
Then, I thought:

"What a clever way to get around the impossible task of a computer determining if the person sending the round is a male or female."

Still, it's a poor example of PC language. Kudos to the Send a Round folks for trying, but it's not working for this English teacher.

Teacher gives a big "F" to PC language on Send a Round.