Why are we referring to warships as "she"?

[Bl4ckh0g]

I do not know about you guys, but I am attracted to intelligence, especially to intelligent women

 

There is one thing about intelligent women though,

I am scared of them, They scare the living hell out of me. Why is that you might ask?

Because They are strong. They are so much stronger than me, They can handle and understand their emotions so much better, and because of that they can manipulate people so much easier than I do. They can make any man lose their mind by just smiling at them. They can make you the happiest man in the world or the most miserable by saying only three little words. Women are strong. They can be gentle and loving if you care about them, but they can be the most menacing, efficient, ice-cold war-machines you ever saw if you get on their bad-side. 

Just imagine that you bleed from your private parts every month for a week....You have no idea how much would I scream If that happened to me, but a woman just shrugs It off as a slight inconvenience.....Woman are freaking hardcore.

 

...And That's why boys and girls we refer to warships ^{(and any other moving object that can cause your death)} as "her"

 

 

 

[chaplainDMK]

I think it's more down to being stuck in a wooden/steel bath-tub with only a bunch sweaty sailor blokes for months on end causing men to start doing anything to feel like they have a woman nearby.

 

[beercrazy]

married 21 years and I think the reason we call warships "she" is because they are a lumbering old beast that wont do what you want or behave how you want it to and then when you think everything is fine they break down

women=warships yup both seem same to me

[knaveofengland]

well don't you know after so many years being married us guys get deaf and the normal chat go yes dear every other word is dear do you get the picture now

[dennez]

I thought it was because theres seamen inside them.. 

 

[beercrazy]

I thought it was because theres seamen inside them.. 

 

dirty boy

[OnboardG1]

Well this thread isn't going anywhere good.

[Supersubway]

Well in the navy... military ships are referred as "male", while non-military vessels are female.

[Shepbur]

Well in the navy... military ships are referred as "male", while non-military vessels are female.

 

I think alot of people would argue against you with that one... >.>

[chaplainDMK]

Well in the navy... military ships are referred as "male", while non-military vessels are female.

 

I think in official documentation they are refered as sex-neutral, basically "The XXX went down at 9.30 hours". "She went down" is used in less formal situations, like propaganda and stuff. 

[Kevbar]

Well in the navy... military ships are referred as "male", while non-military vessels are female.

 

I did 23 years in the RN, first time I've heard that one.

 

Everyday, I learn something new; today, however, seems to be different.

[xBamBamx]

Probably get smacked sown for this but...can be a '[edited]' to play hehe

[Boomer7]

To be honest I never gave much thought to it. To me ships have always been female (its the same in german).

It is a bit strange when the ship is named after an emperor or another male person.

 

Someone in the forum concluded it is because they need lots of powder and paint to look good.

 

I just googled a bit and it seems noone really knows, most assume that it is because in Romance Languages the word for ship and boat was female and so sailors in the Mediterranean called them she and that was then just also used by sailors from other nations.

 

As an example english to latin

ship -> navis (-is)(female)

boat -> navicula (female)

 

This seems to me the most logical conclusion.

 

[Scilya]

because men find machine's sexy especialy things like cars and warships. do you want to go round saying "he is sexy" granted some might but most wont, beautifull things have allways been called "she" you can trace it back throughout history

[tw53]

Not all countries follow this tradition .

[zuadao]

in portuguese its very complicated but since it comes directly from latin here it goes. the frigate class for example is denomited as she. "a fragata". in english language you use the term "the" wich can be used for both.

 

althou frigate is feminine cruiser on the other hand is masculine, "o crusador". as well as the battleship and destroyer. "o couraçado" and "o destruidor".

 

naming the ship or boat is also masculine

[nibiru_star]

I think an object is often a she, cars, motorbikes, boats. No matter how brutal the object might be the referral would still be a she, i think this comes from the fact that people can connect to an object and it's more easy to connect that way to a women then a man. Holding, cleaning and polishing your she bike sounds better then your he bike doesn't it?

[Bl4ckh0g]

I think an object is often a she, cars, motorbikes, boats. No matter how brutal the object might be the referral would still be a she, i think this comes from the fact that people can connect to an object and it's more easy to connect that way to a women then a man. Holding, cleaning and polishing your she bike sounds better then your he bike doesn't it?

 

except if you are gay

[nibiru_star]

 

except if you are gay

 

So true and i would be a good question if you're gay would you call your bike he then?

[Zuxx]

In Italian language is because our grammar, "the ship" is translated "la nave" ... the same as "la donna" aka "the woman" ... we have a complicated language  

 

[Bl4ckh0g]

 

So true and i would be a good question if you're gay would you call your bike he then?

 

Actually I have no idea..

Like, yeah you are spreading hot wax on the curves on his body, and that's hot 'n stuff

but would I refer to a bike as he?

Like I don't know, because I was always in a mindset that people refer to things as her, because of some incomprehensible, chaotic goddess stuff, you know because a bike/car/ship can fail any time and cause your death and you try to take care of her, please her so maybe she will be in a good mood and doesn't kill you or smthing like that

And because men are tend to work on much more straightforward and simpler logical mindset, I just kind of fail to see why would you refer to a complex more "chaotic" machine as he

Like I'd refer to a ladder as he, you know what I mean?

[placeholder001]

It realy depends on language... In English its her (female) in german it is male or not specified... French IIRC is female and now for Dutch, you guessed it Both...

[nibiru_star]

 

Actually I have no idea..

Like, yeah you are spreading hot wax on the curves on his body, and that's hot 'n stuff

I like this one and it's kinda what i mean, it would be strange calling it a he then as a man wouldn't it? And often people see the curves of a women in a bike and car and stuff so there is that.

[GrumpyWorm]

Funny trivia - in Serbian ( and few other Slavic languages) you can use she, it or he, depending on a word you pick to say.

 

[playarci]

Old sailors used to answer this with a sexist joke: "Like a woman, a ship is unpredictable." A more likely suggestion relates to the idea of goddesses and mother figures playing a protective role in looking after a ship and crew. Linked to this is the common practice of giving ships female figureheads and names, often after deities or members of a shipowner's family. Christopher Columbus famously crossed the Atlantic in a ship called La Santa Maria, named after the Virgin Mary.

Another theory comes from the roots of language. Many Indo-European languages have "male", "female" and sometimes "neuter" words. English instead has evolved into using neuter words such as "the". So it could be that making ships female and calling them "she" is an example of a really ancient, English-speaking practice of giving a gender to an inanimate object. It's worth noting that Lloyd's Register of Shipping now calls ships "it".

 

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/01/ask-grown-up-boats-called-she

 

also as an ex-merchant seaman please be aware ships carry boats, boats dont carry ships.