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Re: Why a baby is "it"?

Posted by ESC on May 16, 2003

In Reply to: Why a baby is "it"? posted by Roman Korolenko on May 16, 2003

: Hello!
: Can anybody tell me why in English the pronoun "it" is used with reference to small babies?

I don't know that it is. When parents and others don't know the sex of an unborn child, they may refer to "it." Otherwise it is "he" or "she." There was a commotion when someone referred to Conner Peterson (the unborn child who died when his mother was murdered) as "it."

http://www.lacipeterson.com/