Politeness / political correctness and gender polarity of "plural" suffix -等(ら) for 彼 and 彼女 etc


The definitions on ejje.weblio:

  * [彼ら](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%BD%BC%E3%82%89)
  * [彼女ら](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%BD%BC%E5%A5%B3%E3%82%89)

What I would like to know is:

  1. 彼ら is definitely gender neutral and 彼女ら can only have females in the group, right? 
  2. As explained in [Why is “学生” made “plural” in this newspaper article?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/23476/why-is-%E5%AD%A6%E7%94%9F-made-plural-in-this-newspaper-article), adding -ら allows for a more precise statement. But I wonder, do they sound impolite and rough and would not be used in newspapers?
  3. Is 彼ら rarely used in speaking? And never in writing?
  4. Is 彼女ら just _never_ used?
  5. Is あいつら not uncommon, but used in extremely informal conversations?
  6. You cannot substitute たち for ら and say 彼たち, 彼女たち, or あいつたち, right?




> 彼ら is definitely gender neutral and 彼女ら can only have females in the group,
> right?

If you think using _he_ in English when the gender is unknown is politically
incorrect, then you would still want to worry about 彼ら a bit, too. You don't
have to be too strict, but avoiding gender-neutral 彼ら when possible is a good
habit.

And I think the singular 彼 strongly indicates the male gender, perhaps even
more strongly than English _he_.

> Adding -ら allows for a more precise statement. But I wonder, do they sound
> impolite and rough and would not be used in newspapers?

彼ら and 彼女ら are used both in formal and casual situations. There's nothing
impolite.

> Is 彼ら rarely used in speaking? And never in writing?  
>  Is 彼女ら just never used?

They are used both in casual speaking and writing, but not as frequently as
he/she/they is used in English. Repeating the original noun (e.g. 学生たち, その人たち,
山田さんたち), or simply omitting such pronouns, is the preferred way in Japanese.

> Is あいつら not uncommon, but used in extremely informal conversations?

あいつら (as well as こいつら, そいつら) is more than just informal; it's rough, and
frequently (not always) used in derogatory sentences. I would never use あいつ(ら)
unless I'm really upset.

> You cannot substitute たち for ら and say 彼たち, 彼女たち, or あいつたち, right?

彼ら, 彼女ら and 彼女たち are all commonly used, but 彼たち is extremely uncommon for some
reason. I don't know why. But you can check [this
article](http://www.ytv.co.jp/blog/announcers/michiura/2009/12/post-69.html).




> 彼ら is definitely gender neutral and 彼女ら can only have females in the group,
> right?

If you think using _he_ in English when the gender is unknown is politically
incorrect, then you would still want to worry about 彼ら a bit, too. You don't
have to be too strict, but avoiding gender-neutral 彼ら when possible is a good
habit.

And I think the singular 彼 strongly indicates the male gender, perhaps even
more strongly than English _he_.

> Adding -ら allows for a more precise statement. But I wonder, do they sound
> impolite and rough and would not be used in newspapers?

彼ら and 彼女ら are used both in formal and casual situations. There's nothing
impolite.

> Is 彼ら rarely used in speaking? And never in writing?  
>  Is 彼女ら just never used?

They are used both in casual speaking and writing, but not as frequently as
he/she/they is used in English. Repeating the original noun (e.g. 学生たち, その人たち,
山田さんたち), or simply omitting such pronouns, is the preferred way in Japanese.

> Is あいつら not uncommon, but used in extremely informal conversations?

あいつら (as well as こいつら, そいつら) is more than just informal; it's rough, and
frequently (not always) used in derogatory sentences. I would never use あいつ(ら)
unless I'm really upset.

> You cannot substitute たち for ら and say 彼たち, 彼女たち, or あいつたち, right?

彼ら, 彼女ら and 彼女たち are all commonly used, but 彼たち is extremely uncommon for some
reason. I don't know why. But you can check [this
article](http://www.ytv.co.jp/blog/announcers/michiura/2009/12/post-69.html).

