Of all the reasons to criticize Clippy, the notion of it evoking a sense of the “constant male gaze” is… something.

Clippy didn’t have a gender, how could something like this possible be avoided? I’m asking with a bit of snark, but I’m genuinely open to a serious answer. I’m worried that the solution would just be an attempt at making the dialogue even more obtuse, or making the avatar overtly feminine.