Probably a trick question, and he thinks ALW is a hack…
Well, not in this thread. :dubious: (Dubious smiley)
I had a friend who wanted a project, and decided to restore a car. He chose a dilapidated Fiat X-1/9. It was an evil car; it took away his time, blood and money. He named it Mussolini.
Benito would have been even more appropriate (means “Blessed”).
I have a double cab diesel truck, which (in a small way*) I felt projected my manliness to the general public. I don’t use gender terms to describe vehicles of any kind, but somewhere in me I thought the vehicle to be masculine.
My (then) 2 year old daughter announced that the truck’s name is “Sarah”
Ego deflated in a single blow.
- male insecurity is real
I have three road vehicles, Time Bomb is a he and is my old reliable beast who never really lets me down and bought me my house. Wilbur is a cranky old man of a pickup truck, ugly AF on the outside, surprisingly comfortable inside and has some weird issues that just have to be accomodated because he’s old. My Subaru Legacy wagon is Agnes, because all Subarus are female and probably a bit gay. At least the Portland Subarus are, might be different in other parts of the country. I had a sporty little Cavalier who was an expensive PITA but oh so fun, her name was Firefly. My kayak is Toy Boat and has decided to be a neuter. My BFF’s kayak is definitely a girl and her name is Margaret. I know a lot of people who name their vehicles and ascribe gender and other characteristics to them, it’s like a mental pareidolia.
There are many instances where this happens: Boats, Cars, US Marines and their rifles, Planes…the list goes on.
It does seem strange in a language without gender, (whereas some other languages give all nouns gender) but it has always come across to me as a term of respect and honor. It may be sexist, but so is the imperfect world in which we live.
I will believe anyone who says they are offended, but I’d still think of boats this way.
English used to be a far more gendered language. Perhaps it’s an odd holdover from that. Or maybe it was in some way connected to superstitious belief about luck, which used to be quite common in sailing. People taking medieval boats out into the north sea with very little in the way of weather forecasts and navigation would be likely to want all the luck they could get. The risks were significant. Some connection with old religious beliefs, maybe? Gods connected with luck were often female. Maybe it was seen as being in some way protective, maternal?
I had a quick look around online, in case the answer was clear and known. Apparently not.
Nowadays the usage is just custom. It bothers me a bit because I dislike gendered language on principle, but it doesn’t bother me more than a bit because I think it’s just a custom and no longer really gendered. If it was, people would know why boats were gendered feminine.
For exactly the reasons you list-I find it offensive. Those are all insults hurled at women from a time when women were largely powerless and subject to the whims of any idiot men around them for the most part. Why would I think it’s ok? Now if there were some positive attributes, say, referring to the Starship Enterprise for example, (Fast-zero-warp 10 in two minutes, intelligent computer running HER, etc.) then maybe it could be considered a compliment. I’ll give that some thought.
To me, as with pretty much anything, it seems that intent matters the most.
If someone said to me that they called their boat “Marie” because “she’s like my ex, uncontrollable, expensive and wet” Then I’d think they were a creep of the highest order.
If the same person said it was because “she was a present from my wife, she’s beautiful, I love her and she keeps me safe and sane” then I’d have a completely different opinion.
And, seeing as the feminisation of ships is hardly universal, I’d hold the same opinion no matter the gender combinations of namer or namee.
It is all about respect. Words matter but intent matters far more.
I think the fundamental issue here is that there are some categories of inanimate objects, including weapons, vehicles, and computers, that are more prone to be anthropomorphized. And English lacks a pronoun for a person of unspecified gender, so every such anthropomorphized object will end up being either “he” or “she”. Which of those two it is can be entirely arbitrary, or it can depend on the owner’s assessment of whatever intangibles go into gender.
Yes, I learned that while reading Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising. There’s a Star Trek novel in which it’s revealed that Klingons refer to their ships as “he,” also.
I think I disagree with this. The world can’t be held responsible for having to understand your intent if it’s not readily apparent. It’s like the whole “not racist in my heart” business. It’s your interaction with the world that counts, not your heart.
I do agree with Novelty. Now, if intent is not readily apparent, that’s a different problem, but words alone do not convey meaning: one of the problems of written communication is being clear enough in the absence of body language and tone of voice. With those present, there are people who manage to turn “hello” into a threat or an insult.
Really? If I stole your wallet to distribute the contents to the starving poor you would look upon me just the same as if I stole it to pay for hookers, booze and blackjack?
To me boats are ‘its’. I’m not offended by people calling them ‘she’, though, because if you’re going to anthropomorphize the things, it’s probably equally valid to give them female personalities as male personalities in your made-up mental world.
and I’m offended by people so short-sighted as to think applying a gender pronoun to a ship is sexism.
Are you the sort that would refuse a ploughman’s lunch, demanding it be renamed as a ploughperson’s lunch?
Are you the sort that would turn away a midwife, because the job name sounds vaguely like a sexist term?
Sorry , but you are the one being silly.
That is exactly correct.
“He” tends to be used for objects that are more massive, strong, or dangerous. Active roles. Because, face it, males are somewhat like that.
Examples are cars, locomotives (but not steam!).
“She” tends to be used for objects that are graceful, temperamental, or dependable/durable.
Because, again, females are somewhat like that.
Examples are ships (not boats!), Steam locomotive, favored and trusted hand tool, well-build bridge.
What is required is that the object, usually a vehicle, be perceived as having a ‘personality’, and then matching the pronoun to the perceived personality.
And yet I’m sure you knew what was meant. Are you this pedantic in person too?
In response to the question in the OP As many before me have expressed… Personally I find it exhausting to be offended by every little thing. How could that be offensive?
A battleship is most certainly massive, strong, and dangerous, and yet, it gets called “she”. Even warships which bear the name of men get called “she”.
And how can “temperamental” and “dependable” both be distinctively feminine traits?