Chairman or chairwoman?

[GLL]

: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
:
: Let's simply spread the use of the English equivalent of Latin _vir_,

I think it's easier to push back by preserving what we already use
successfully ('he' is fine for a singular, gender indeterminate pronoun) than
to invent something new and cumbersome to replace something which is new and
equally inappropriate

My wife and I both find 'they' as a singular jarring, and when the subject is
broached we respond that it's still acceptable in English grammar for the
masculine to subsume the feminine. Personally when I see 'they' as a singular
my evaluation of the writer's maturity and subject competence drops sharply.

I also take 'points off' for writers who mix up 'blond' and 'blonde.'

As for 'actor/actress,' there was a comedian about 25 years ago who dug into
these gendered words; he asked whether an oyster should pine for his
oystress.

I don't think I would use 'editrix' or 'aviatrix' in my own natural, informal
speaking, but as a nautical term I *might* try 'pilotess' if the subject
arose.

- GLL

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