I upset a feminist

[Europe]

I thought some of you fellows, especially you older fellows, might get a chuckle from this

Yesterday, two young women got very upset at me. One got within 1 foot of my face and was speaking very loudly

I was having coffee with two other old ( ancient ) women and a young fellow pulled up in a very nice 65 Mustang. I said as he walked by, "she is a beauty" He said thank you but behind us a couple of young women told me. "Do not refer to cars as SHE, as it infers that women are objects of beauty and can be owned by men.

I told her all the women I knew, as far back as my grandmother in the 1940's never felt owned and none of the men that were married to them treated them like they owned them.

She didn't expect me to contradict her and she got visibly upset, stood up and walked over to me and said " what car do you invasion as a he ?" I told her I always though of a man when I saw the 1951 Studebacker Manta Ray. She immediately was on her phone looking it up and then said in a very sarcastic manner "cute, real cute " and they left.

Do any of you guys still use the word "she" when referring to a car, boat, even a gun or am I officially a dinosaur ?

 

[Mica Man]

All the time! I have a hard time referring to the items you described as "they or them".

 

[Sytes]

All the time. A common term of endearment.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[SFC B]

Cars, boats and guns.

 

[rwc101]

Really thought this was going to be a @DouglasR thread.

Yes. Guns, planes, cars, boats...

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

My truck is a her. Connie is her name.

I had to look up the Studebaker as well. That made me laugh.

 

[Harrier]

It’s probably a generational thing. I have a sailboat, three cars and many guns, but I’ve never referred to any of them as she or her.

 

[Addicting]

All the time. “He is a beauty” just doesn’t have the same ring. Same way I would never say “she is a stud”. Lol

 

[duckhunt]

My truck is a her. Connie is her name.

I had to look up the Studebaker as well. That made me laugh.

I also looked it up.

 

[Nameless Range]

I have thought about this recently. I do refer to things as she at times.

I write geography articles in the local newspaper, and I have noticed that on occasion it can be fitting to refer to chunks of earth, or places, as she. Maybe it is sexist that referring to a place as 'he' doesn't fit as well, but I actually don't think so. I liken it to the gender held in the concept of 'Mother Earth'.

In Frank Bird Linderman's epic, "Montana Adventure", he writes of telling an old trapping friend of his that Montana has officially become a state, to which the oldtimer disappointedly replies, "Now she's gone to hell for keeps."

The use of "she" seems to fit there, and things going "to hell for keeps", is now a common phrase in my personal lexicon.

 

[Straight Arrow]

My 77 Ford F350 4wd is Freda. My Dodge Ram is Gandalf the Gray. My wife's red Beetle bug is Poppy. So what's the big deal?!

 

[BirdManMike]

I dont. I have a difficult time placing a gender on inanimate objects.

I have this theory that the reason English-speaking peoples (Brits, Merkans) have been de facto rulers of the world for the past few hundred years is because our language does not have gender on everything. People that speak these other languages have to always keep gender in mind when conjugating and forming sentences, gender that is often applied for no good reason (a pencil is masculine but a notebook is feminine - WTF?). Sure, as these other peoples - furiners, lets call them - grow up, they learn what things are feminine and masculine and it becomes a matter of memorization, but those microseconds of effort spent recalling whether or not to use masculine or feminine pronouns and conjugations, etc. add up. All that extra effort but forth on word gender by these furiners could have instead been put into becoming better at the colonization, exploitation, and subjugation - just plain winning, really - that we English-speaking people have mastered. I cant prove this theory, but I feel its accurate.


So, having said that, I feel that were I to start referring to vehicles in the feminine (or masculine, for that matter) then I am no better than some beret-wearing Parisian sitting at cafe muttering about stupid Americans while nibbling a croissant. I envy him his croissant (best pastry, hands down), but not his gender-based language.

 

[noharleyyet]

 

[LuckyTom]

Sounds like you held your own. Might be a different story when the "2 other old women" find out you called them ancient..

 

[Randi]

Not only do I do it, but everyone in my family does it. I have even referred to saddles as "she" when I see a special one

My truck is a her. Connie is her name.

I had to look up the Studebaker as well. That made me laugh.

me too--

 

[JEL]

 

[2rocky]

The Confusion is real.....For you dear April

 

[Dakotakid]

young lady might have a stroke if she saw my military 5 ton named Sarabel.
Sarabel name comes from a friends mom growing up- she was a very big gal.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

There are conversations about gender equality, and then there are conversations like that... or the gender of articles in romance languages, el v. la, le v. la, etc



@Europe 1951 Studebacker Manta Ray... had to google it.

Well played.

 

[FI460]

Still fairly common with the younger generation. In high school many of the girls called their cars by masculine names.

My F350 is Gwen the white whale. She's often praised as the Big Gal. My 4runner is just the 4runner and is usually called things like "stupid donkey."