Anyone who thinks ships are not feminine... burst into flames!
Oh yeah this is going to be a rant! From the article on CNN. The fine folks at Lloyd's list have figure it all out. They have decided ships should no longer be feminine. They are to be referred to a 'it' not 'she.' Lloyd's list is the shipping industries trade paper. Centuries of English customs document referring to ship as 'she,' vessels built from the same design were know as sister ships. The ocean her self has feminine pronouns use to address to her. Why does Lloyd's list want to change all this? Here is their reason "Ultimately they are commodities...not things that have characters."
We name hurricanes, why it is just weather condition? People give their pets names, why they are just livestock? I think giving children name is too personal, wait until they get a job and we will call them by their job titles. I going to start referring to Lloyd's list as a bunch of it's. After all they are journalists not something that has character.
If I were to be revolutionary and storm the gates of tyranny to line the oppressors up in front of a wall and shoot them, these people would be them. Ship have personality and character. They protect use on the sea and bring us home. They mirror what is beautiful about every woman. Willful, strong, protective and faithful that are the things that we see in ships. That is why we call them 'she.' If you folks at Lloyds list don't see that anymore maybe you should start covering something else.