I just got really turned off by page 28 of The Happiness Hypothesis... I've recommended this book to so many friends and have already read most of it in excerpts or jumping around chapters, but in my attempt to read it beginning to end I ran into the sentence,

...for every patient seeking help in becoming more organized, self-controlled, and responsible about her future, there is a waiting room full of people hoping to loosen up, lighten up, and worry less about the stupid thing they said at yesterday's staff meeting or about the rejection they are sure will follow tomorrow's lunch date.

Really? I can't believe the words I see on the page. So all therapy patients are female?

Update on February 28: Haidt uses feminine pronouns throughout The Happiness Hypothesis. I'm not sure why. Does anyone have any insight as to why a writer would use feminine pronouns instead of using gender-neutral options like "his or her" or "their"? I see why writing "his or her" could be slightly annoying to both the writer and the reader if this type of factual statement is used often (as it is in this book). But why not use "they" and "their," and furthermore why use feminine over masculine? It's just nontraditional, and can actually be offensive (as it was to me the first time I came across it). The only good reason I've come up with is that the prediction was that most readers of The Happiness Hypothesis would be female. This is probably true; most psychology students are female, as a professor of psychology Haidt knew that. But I'm still not sure I'm sold on changing all the pronouns of an entire book to the feminine. Anyway, this has gone too far, it's not bothering me so much anymore and I still love the book.