I use they, if no gender is given in the context. In my native language pronouns are not gendered, so gendering people, pets and sometimes things, without knowledge of their gender/sex just feels stupid. Adding gender without reason, just distracts from the actual subject. So at least sometimes, it is a cultural difference. What would anyone do, with the information of my partner's gender, except make assumptions about me, and altering their interactions based on that.