I've seen 彼 and even sometimes 彼氏 described in several dictionaries as a
pronoun that can refer to a person of any gender, while 彼女 is explicitly
female. However in the wild ive never seen a woman referred to with 彼, but its
also possible i dont see it, just as a second-language speaker of English may
not realize "his" in "Every man must choose his fate" can refer to a person of
any gender as it's a very subtle distinction.

So my question is this — when in modern day practice can 彼 refer to a person
of either gender?
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2020-05-27T13:38:38.953
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2020-05-28T01:03:50.770
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question
pronouns gender
When does 彼 refer to a person of indeterminate gender?
The meaning of 彼 depends on the reading. If it's read かれ and is singular
(i.e., not 彼ら), then it refers to a male.
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2020-05-27T22:48:26.850
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answer
彼{かれ} always refers to a male person in modern Japanese.

Historically, it was used to refer to something far away (like あれ in modern
Japanese), and as a result was compatible with females as well, but that usage
is no longer possible. Vestiges of that usage can be seen in 彼{か}の〜 (largely
equivalent to あの) which is still used in modern Japanese.
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2020-05-29T17:01:38.697
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2020-05-29T17:01:38.697
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answer