The Singular They
According to the discussion you have presented about the singular “they,” I agree that it has been used to refer to a person of unspecified gender. The Oxford English Dictionary tracks the use of singular ‘they back to 1375 where. It was used in a romance poem. The use in the early days was used to refer to an unnamed person, and its application is rampant in today’s form of Standard English. People commonly use singular ‘they’ in informal writings and formal speeches to refer to people of the unknown gender. Consider the following example where singular ‘they’ is used. Who bought their meals from the school cafeteria today? The use of “their” in this sentence does not refer to a specific gender. The use of “their” is gender-neutral.
Jenkins (2015) presents that English, like any language, is evolving and that the oxford English Dictionary adds over 150 million words monthly to its database. This fact confirms that the English language is changing to accommodate everyone. I agree with your view that culture does not protect or damage language, but instead, they coexist as complementary to each other. When a culture changes, the change is also felt by the language of that particular culture. As your discussion argues, a language may possess a moral or ethical component depending on the context of a given culture. If culture encompasses religion, then the language used is deemed to have moral elements. Your take on a teacher requesting to be addressed as Mx (Fox News, 2017) is impressive. Gender sensitivity is indeed outdated, and the use of gender-neutral pronouns should be embraced. The changing nature of English makes it more comfortable for all the speakers
References
The Oxford Dictionary. (2020). A brief history of singular ‘they’ | Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 15 May 2020, from https://public.oed.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-singular-they/
Jenkins, J. (2015). Global Englishes: A resource book for students (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN: 9780415638449.
Fox News. (2017). Florida teacher asks students to use gender-neutral pronouns, angering parents. Retrieved 15 May 2020, from https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-teacher-asks-students-to-use-gender-neutral-pronouns-angering-parents