Politically Correct English
It can be justifiably argued that whoever controls the language, controls the debate. Given that, then the feminists are winning. Why? The first clue is the simple fact that people have been forced to choose between political correctness and grammatical. It is one thing to use a more neutral term like "chairperson" or "alter-server", but quite another to actually use faulty grammar in order to keep the feminists happy. I have discovered, by the way, that people have been hearing this androgynous [crud] for so long that they do not even realize its faultiness. What I am referring to is the use of "they" or a derivative thereof in the place of what should be a singular pronoun.

Examples:
"Does anyone have a calendar on them?"

"Somebody has to step up and win this game for their team"-- courtesy of John Madden (against whom I have no other complaint, BTW) during the 1999 NFC title game. If I recall correctly, all members of the Rams and Bucs were male, so "his" would have been the correct choice.

What's really bad is that people are using this even when there is no gender "conflict" involved.

Example:
"I was talking to my friend the other day and they said..." *They* said??? Does your friend have a mouse in his (<--note proper English) pocket who talks simultaneously?

If people truly desire an androgynous language then let them give us the tools to effect it, namely, gender-neutral pronouns. I would be happy to use them if they were available, but, until then, I'm sticking with "he".



                                                                   
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