Re: Gender neutral - any new developments in your neck of the woods?

[Kirsten Zerbinis <salmonzerbinis -at- rogers -dot- com>]

Yipes -- this reminds me of the arm-wrestling I did with my 
mother-in-law over addressing wedding invitations.  She insisted that 
the correct thing to do was to only use Mrs. when you were also using 
the husband's name -- the whole name.  As in, you could be Mrs. John 
Smith, *and* Ms. Jane Doe, but never Mrs. Jane Smith.  And, she being 
from New England, she was able to put a disarming amount of conviction 
(and a prim, tight smile) behind her use of the word "correct".

She didn't win that battle, but I still feel weird about the concession 
that her 80-year-old, spinster aunt be referred to as Ms. Spinster 
Aunt.  New England, remember, and 80.  I can't imagine she expected any 
form of address except for "Miss".

Myself, I solve the gender-neutral problem with a steadfast use of the 
second-person.  It forces the active voice, it allows for a comfortable 
but not breezy informality, and I never have to spend another moment 
thinking "Well, the OED says using 'they' as a singular neuter pronoun 
is okay, but I hate it and it's stupid.  And only editors, tech 
writers, and English professors pay attention to the OED anyway.  What 
to do?"

-Kirsten Zerbinis

On Monday, March 3, 2003, at 02:15 PM, Rock, Megan wrote: