Use of its for an Artist of whom I don’t know the gender

Question

If I refer to an artist, of whom I don’t know the gender, may I use the possessive its?

Now that a number of animals have created (sometimes valuable) works of art - mainly working with paint and brush - "its" becomes a possibility. — Ronald Sole
– Ronald Sole, Commented Apr 4 at 22:50
"whose gender I don't know" is the more idiomatic way to express that, BTW. — TimR-gone from here
– TimR-gone from here, Commented Apr 5 at 12:23

Barmar · Accepted Answer · 2025-04-04 20:53:30Z

3

No. "It" is not used to refer to people; an exception is sometimes made for an unborn fetus whose sex is not yet known.

Many people use "they" as the pronoun when the sex isn't known, so the possessive would be "their". Another option is the more wordy "His or her".

answered Apr 4 at 20:53

Barmar

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SoronelHaetir · Accepted Answer · 2025-04-04 21:53:18Z

1

Or "their", as in: "Their work has many interesting elements".

You could also simply forego pronouns and say "This artist's work has many interesting elements."

answered Apr 4 at 21:53

SoronelHaetir

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2 Answers 2