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)