Aren't we overanalyzing a bit here, folks? Accepted: the clue should have read "its gender." The rationale is simple- take 3 pronouns: he,she,it. If you assign gender to each: masculine, feminine, neuter. End of discussion. Take my word for it, most people (those who are not wordies) would dig no deeper than that. Where is he - you're looking for a male person. Where is she - you're looking for a female person. Where is it - you're looking for an object, neither male nor female.