Gender Neutrality is in da HOUSE

Some may feel that this is no big deal but I have always felt the inherent disrespect and being made invisible aspect of using the male pronoun in supposedly gender neutral ways. I felt it from the first time I heard god spoken of as male (with a "geez, can't you just read it as gender neutral" kind of response to my feeling left out) and I felt it when I learned that in Spanish (probably in other Romance languages as well) all it took to turn a group of women from feminine to masculine was 1 male. You could have 1 million women, but if there were one male in the group, and he was worth recognizing, the pronouns (and, in Spanish, adjectives and every other word that carries masculine or feminine identifiers) would switch from female to male. I have been told by many women (I think of them as patriarchy enforcers) that it's no big deal. There are bigger fish to fry. If I don't disappear myself then I won't disappear in the language. I'm over sensitive. I shouldn't care so much. Etc...

Given my history of frustration with this issue, I am DELIGHTED to announce that the House has switched to a gender neutral language system. Via Congress Matters:

As part of its Rules change package adopted on its opening day, the House has opted to make its rules and other official language gender neutral.

"Chair" instead of "chairman." Rewriting sentences that use masculine pronouns, etc.

I am thrilled. It's about time. Now, Senators, are you listening?