Two reasons why the attempt to achieve gender-neutral writing has produced awkward writing and ill will are explored. The first is that it distracts the writer's attention from the main subject. The second is that a shift is taking place in the way we understand problems, so that the word 'he' actually means different things to different people. Ways for writers and editors to avoid the problems of gender-neutral writing are suggested.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>