Quote:
Originally Posted by VydorScope
[...]Ban shook its head
Then the most common understanding will be "Ban is not a person, maybe a robot or a dog."[...]
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And yet a dog has gender and yet there are no very negative connotations (that I know of) in referring to a dog as an it. (eg: "I respect its privacy" - a line from the movie "Grosse Pointe Blank" about a cat referred to as it). In my eyes such uses easily justify being able to use "it" for an alien being whose gender is neither male nor female.
That is to say: the negative connotations being noted generally refer to the situation where the object of discussion may be offended by not being referred to as the appropriate gender. Where such offense is not anticipated the connotations are much less likely to be read into the text.
I would also add that a reader's understanding of word usage varies with the genre. In science fiction, and fantasy to varying degrees, a reader generally expects to have to learn some language subtleties relevant to the context. Thus, once it becomes clear that Ban is neither male nor female, the use of "it" will be seen as appropriate and unlikely to attract more attention than the reminder that this being is neither a "he" or a "she" - which is quite possibly a good thing.
At least, that's the way I see it.