Post originally by Twilight Jack at 2003-12-23 11:54:17
Converted from Phorums BB System

Gonna have to hop onto the Get Over It Boat with the Anonymous Coward over here. The quest for gender equality has more serious obstacles in its path than the use of a group of pronouns deemed by common usage to be generic.

For thousands of years, women have been ignored, maligned, and looked down upon; the inequality has been so pervasive that it has worked its way into our very language, which any linguist or sociologist will tell you has a profound effect on the way we think as a culture. My answer? Make the female pronouns the generic choice. There are more women in the world than men, so if you don't know someone's gender, smart money's on female anyway. Additionally, in embryonic state, everyone is female until certain parts of the DNA strand activate and switch things up. So the use of the female pronouns in cases of non-specific gender is supported both statistically and scientifically.

Besides, using female pronouns as the universal generic is a gentle prod at everyone who makes a big stink over the difference.