Is using "she" when the gender is unknown ungrammatical? [duplicate]

I often come across the use of "she" not as an gender neutral pronoun as such but as the pronoun of choice when the gender is unknown. This is particularly common in scientific/technical documents but not exclusive to them. The following are four of the first google hits when searching for "the user can" "if she":

• Example 1:

  The user can type anything to identify the file. When coming back to the data she would expect to see exactly the same string she typed in.

• Example 2:

  In this page the user can add a new entity, if she follows the link labelled Add entity.

• Example 3:

  To continue with our ergonomic program, imagine that you would really like the user to sit down and your program would continue only once she answers that she is sitting down, you can use the do…while statement to wait for the user to sit down;

• Example 4:

  The user can program the alarm to go off at a particular time -- for example, the user can enter the time when she expects to get home.

I do not call this gender-neutral because she clearly has a gender. However, that is in no way implied by the context. Traditionally, we would have used he instead but the use of she in these contexts has been rising (at least that is my impression).

I raised this point in the comments section of this question and was told that such use of she is ungrammatical. I was also told that it is annoying which is the reader's prerogative, but ungrammatical?

So, is such use of she ungrammatical and, if so, why?

CLARIFICATION: I am not asking what the gender-neutral pronoun is in the English language but why she would be ungrammatical if he isn't.

Solution 1:

It's a complicated subject. He was used in the past as the gender-neutral pronoun, but the shift away from the masculine-as-neutral more about societal mores and wanting to be inclusive then it is about affirmative action.

Here is an interesting article from Oxford about the subject. Essentially, they provide three alternatives.

• Use he or she
• Use they
• Pluralize the noun instead of using a pronoun

They provide the pros and cons of each approach as well, but the essential conclusion is that it's not really decided yet. She as gender-neutral is definitely ungrammatical, as it has neither inclusiveness nor history on its side. Using he - while remaining noninclusive - at least has the advantage of tradition.

Solution 2:

I would disagree with the comment in your other question and say that it is not "ungrammatical". As the various answers in this question, and others, attest: 'she' is both accepted and even (in some cases) popular as a gender-neutral pronoun.

It may be considered unusual, weird, trendy, or distracting by some (myself included) but I can't find any reason to suggest it is incorrect.

Edit to add: (having just seen tchrist's comment in the other answer) Using a gender-neutral pronoun at all only makes sense when you're talking about a gender-neutral concept in the first place. "The user can use her mouse" is reasonably gender neutral. "Ask anyone who shows up to leave her purse..." would be weird unless it's a girls-only party.

Solution 3:

It's technically not gender neutral, because, as you state, "she" is not gender neutral. But then again, "he" isn't gender neutral either (but is in much more common usage to refer to either a male or a female). I am not aware that either is grammatically incorrect, per se.

In some disciplines, particularly in computer science and engineering, using "she" in writing is a way to try to encourage diversity and to go against the stereotypical "male" commonly in such settings.

Usually in these situations, the gender of the subject is irrelevant and therefore either male or female pronouns can be used safely.