An editor once asked why I use the masculine pronoun "he," instead of the less sexist "he or she" when referring to people of both genders in the same sentence. Despite having grown up in what is now called the second wave of feminism, from the early '60s to late '80s, I still never quite made the change from "he/his" to "he or she" or "his or hers." Here's why.

Although I am female, I don't always feel female. In fact, sometimes I feel male, or at least neuter. Other times I feel like a fish or a tanuki. And I have no problem with this. With this existentialist view, and perhaps an overdose of Jean-Paul Sartre when I was young, I have grown into being feminine. Believe me, it's been a slow process.

But society often blurs the distinction between male and female as well. Just go to any Uniqlo store and try to distinguish the men's clothing from the women's. All they do is take men's fashion, add a piece of fake fur to it, and call it women's. It's as if women were descendants of small furry creatures. Well, maybe some of us are.