How about we propose a compromise. People should be welcome to write in a way that sounds right to them.
You can use the convention of writing using the gender of the author and it will irritate some of us.
Some of us, who seem to find it less of a problem, can use the convention "they" and it will irritate you.
After 50 years we can come back and review it and see which one was more widely accepted.
In the meantime some one can get busy re-writing Jane Austin's books, Frankenstein and a few others using "she" instead of "he" where the gender was not specified. Not to mention a few others like PD James, AS Byatt and JK Rowling who have preferred write their first books whilst choosing not to let readers be influenced by knowing whether they were male or female.
It's not like 2+2 (to the base 10), there is never going to be a simple answer. If we stick to the Darwinian theory of words - survival of the fittest - only time will tell.
