Sexist Language:
What's the Big Deal?

Traditionalists criticize (a) on the grounds that "their" (plural) doesn't logically agree with "someone" (singular) .

(a) Someone forgot their notebook.
(b) Someone forgot his notebook.

But (b) could just as well be criticized on the grounds that "his" (specifically masculine) doesn't logically agree with "someone" (generic/neutral). The traditionalist will respond that "his" isn't always specifically masculine: it's ambiguous, sometimes masculine and sometimes generic. But the defender of (a) could say the same thing about "their": it's ambiguous, sometimes plural and sometimes singular. In summary, neither (a) nor (b) is more logical than the other.

However, there is a big psychological difference. Experimental research demonstrates that sexist writing promotes sexist thinking. After reading sentences like (b), subjects are more likely to think of women as being absent in society -- passive, marginal, unimportant. Thus, I urge you to avoid sexist language. If you need ideas on how to use inclusive language elegantly, I would recommend you take a look at Miller & Swift's Handbook of Non-Sexist Writing.