Readers in Council,
The Japan Times,
5-4, Shibaura 4-chome,
Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023
In the article about the phasing out of older model aircraft from JAL’s fleet, “747 vet rues exit of early jumbo jets,” (August 1, 2009) it was reported almost as an esoteric anecdote that “It is common for crew members to say, “she” when referring to an airplane.” It is not only common, but habitual in English for vehicles that protectively surround our bodies - like spacecraft and submarines, automobiles, aircraft and most famously ships - to be referred to with feminine pronouns not because they are tender and nurturing but because of the uterine images they inspire. They surround us like the womb surrounds an embryo and we dwell inside them, safely. And so we call our ships et al “she,” like a beloved mother. Of course, this might be just a male fetish, and maybe females feel differently on the subject. But I think that this is the traditional explanation: linguistic artifacts from a patriarchal world.
Personally, I refer to other things in the feminine as well. My drum kit, for example. Feminine pronouns express my intimate relationship with my instrument more than they do my disposition towards women as a group. I mean, I strike my drums with love, not misogyny. Or, my computer, the most uncooperative Queen Harpy of the mechanical universe.
But I could be wrong.