Are we allowed to give up terrible "she or he/her or him" constructions in favor of "they" even if the number doesn't agree? Have any of the major style manuals adopted this yet?
Yes! The American Psychological Association specifically addresses this in their guidance on bias-free language (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language/gender). It's preferred to use "they" rather than any variation of "she or he" when discussing anyone whose gender identity is not known, or when discussing a theoretical/hypothetical or unspecified person and gender is irrelevant in context.
Many other manuals are following suit including American Medical Association and Associated Press. It's worthy of note that Chicago Manual of Style approved use of the singular "they" for theoretical/hypothetical or unspecified people in the 14th edition *and then recanted and changed their stance back* for the 15th edition which is, frankly, shameful.
I really need to take time to sit down with some macros or try my hand at simple programming, because I have ideas for scripts like this that I think would really help me with my writing (and others may find useful as well).
Are we allowed to give up terrible "she or he/her or him" constructions in favor of "they" even if the number doesn't agree? Have any of the major style manuals adopted this yet?
Yes! The American Psychological Association specifically addresses this in their guidance on bias-free language (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language/gender). It's preferred to use "they" rather than any variation of "she or he" when discussing anyone whose gender identity is not known, or when discussing a theoretical/hypothetical or unspecified person and gender is irrelevant in context.
Many other manuals are following suit including American Medical Association and Associated Press. It's worthy of note that Chicago Manual of Style approved use of the singular "they" for theoretical/hypothetical or unspecified people in the 14th edition *and then recanted and changed their stance back* for the 15th edition which is, frankly, shameful.
I have been trying to capitalize pronouns when I use them so I can go back and check later.
-What was That animal over there.
-I can remember who He was.
-Oh, She helped me learn carpentry.
-I learned how to cook it from Them.
Then I go back to make sure whoever gets clarrifed later.
I really need to take time to sit down with some macros or try my hand at simple programming, because I have ideas for scripts like this that I think would really help me with my writing (and others may find useful as well).