Sweden introduces gender-neutral pronoun

How can you raise a child in an environment free of gender bias when the very language you speak distinguishes boys from girls?

Well, Sweden is fixing that obvious linguistic flaw by introducing a new gender-neutral pronoun:

Just days after International Women's Day a new pronoun, hen (pronounced like the bird in English), was added to the online version of the country’s National Encyclopedia. The entry defines hen as a "proposed gender-neutral personal pronoun instead of he [han in Swedish] and she [hon]."The National Encyclopedia announcement came amid a heated debate about gender neutrality that has been raging in Swedish newspaper columns and TV studios and on parenting blogs and feminist websites. It was sparked by the publication of Sweden's first ever gender-neutral children's book, Kivi och Monsterhund (Kivi and Monsterdog). It tells the story of Kivi, who wants a dog for "hen's" birthday.

 The whole thing is kind of long so here is the link to the whole article for those interested. Via Neatorama