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Conference unifix::sailing

Title:	SAILING
Notice:	Please read Note 2.* before participating in this conference
Moderator:	UNIFIX::BERENS

Created:	Wed Jul 01 1992
Last Modified:	Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	2299
Total number of notes:	20724

2266.0. "Sexisim in lore of the sea" by DECC::CLAFLIN (Doug Claflin dtn 881-6355) Thu May 09 1996 08:20

I was home last weekend in Colorado.  Our after lobster conversation drifted in a
number of interesting directions.  One was the gender of words in lore, sailing
in particular.

An interesting postulate was put forward.  Boats and the sea etc. have female
gender.  Even the Thomas Lawton is referred to as "she".  Does this derive from
the concept of a nuturer.  Throughout our language there are cases where the
nuturer is also harsh, e.g. goddess of the hunt, the womb of the sea, Shiva, etc.
Of course, men may have referred to boats as "she" simply because they were at
sea a long time.

So any speculation as to why boats are called "she".  Having seen "The Gods Must
Be Crazy" last night, I think the Anti-Christ is taken by Land Rovers.

Doug
dtn 381-6355

T.R Title User Personal
Name Date Lines

2266.1 MOVIES::WIDDOWSON Brought to you from an F64 disk Thu Jun 27 1996 07:02 5

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2266.1		MOVIES::WIDDOWSON	Brought to you from an F64 disk	`Thu Jun 27 1996 07:02`	5
	InterestingUIt alweays amused me that boats (and cars?) are one of the few nouns that English makes feminin, but in french `bateaux' is masculin - it takes some getting used to refer to a boar a `he'. /r

    InterestingUIt alweays amused me that boats (and cars?) are one of the
    few nouns that English makes feminin, but in french `bateaux' is
    masculin - it takes some getting used to refer to a boar a `he'.
    
    /r