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Gender association & English
An English teacher was explaining to his
students the concept of gender association in the English language.
He stated how hurricanes at one time were given feminine names and how ships
and planes were usually referred to as "she". One of the students
raised their hand and asked - "What gender is a computer"?
The teacher wasn't certain which it was, so he divided the class into two
groups, males in one, females in the other, and asked them to decide if a
computer should be masculine or feminine. Both groups were asked to give four
reasons for their recommendation. The group of women concluded that computers
should be referred to in the masculine gender because:
1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
3. They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the time they
ARE the problem.
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a little
longer, you could have had a better model.
The men, on the other hand, decided that computers should definitely be
referred to in the feminine gender because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later
retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half
your paycheck on accessories for it.