In article <v01520d02acf1b86dc125@[159.87.85.11]>, Michael McColgin
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
> Dear Sir or Madame:
>         A greeting such as "Gentlemen" or "Dear Sir" is traditionally used
> when the gender of the recipient is unknown.  "Dear Sir or Madame" is the
> gender neutral version.  In formal written English, the male pronoun is
> used except when the referrent is definitely female.  When in doubt, the
> male pronouns are used.  Such style saves us from the ill sounding and
> unnecessary constructions such as "he/she saids" and all of the politically
> correct concoctions of recent years.
>
> Michael McColgin                               Phone: (602) 542- 4159

I agree that some of the suggestions from the 70's are contrived or awkward,
such as s/he or he/she or Dear Sir or Madame (I'd rather be called a sir than a
sir-or-madame).  It is also annoying how "person" has come to mean "woman",
rather than being gender neutral.  One construction, however, I was sorry to
see fall by the wayside--using ve/vim/vis for the neutral of he/him/his or
she/her/hers.  That one is easy to incorporate into our language (and resurrect
the gender neutrality of "person").

Robin Panza                       [log in to unmask]
(gender neutral name but female, nonetheless)