grammar - "Layman" and gender equality


Is it correct to write:



He wants to explain X concept to the layman, not before warning him ...



Or should I write:



He wants to explain X concept to the layman, not before warning him or her ...




Answer



The easy (and for once not inelegant) solution is to evade the issue by using the collective:



He wants to explain X to the laity, not before warning them ...



EDIT Since use of laity in a non-religious sense has excited considerable comment, I note that OED 1 dates it back to 1832, citing the Jurisprudence of John Austin, a leading philosopher of law:



The laity (or non-lawyer part of the community) are competent to conceive the more general rules.



And for those who object to grounding an argument on the usage of a lawyer, I offer the greatest modern master of English prose style:



All professions are conspiracies against the laity. —Bernard Shaw, Preface to The Doctor's Dilemma



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