Gender neutrality seems like a tough nut in English. "One" seems very helpful, but since it's pretty difficult to phrase a right question regarding its usage because of the countless possible uses of this word, finding a concise set of rules can get tough. The answers I managed to find though, varied; hence my two questions.
Is it common both in American English and British English to use the form "one" as a gender-neutral pronoun? Or perhaps it would sound odd in one of the dialects?
If I'm willing to stay gender-neutral, should I stick to using singular "they", "their", etc. or is it best to either use generic he or rephrase the whole sentence? I've always used this form as follows:
One should be aware of their surroundings.
But one of the sources stated it's a bit confusing, and I'd be better off saying:
One should be aware of one's surroundings.
It seems to me that repeating "one" bears the same issue as "he or she" form - it sounds pretty awkward and cumbersome.
On the other hand, replacing one's with, for instance, his, seems to comprise the whole idea of gender neutrality.
And, leaving off "one", do you think there's anything wrong at all in utterances like:
A reporter is not always allowed to give away their sources.
Everyone is advised to return to their seats.
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