She

[Kh1967]

Originally Posted by Clarky40

I wonder if female guitar players consider their guitars female?

I can’t speak for all other women but, I don’t refer to my guitars as she, or he, for that matter. Just, “it.”

[AHill]

In foreign languages where nouns have gender, guitar is female:

Spanish: la guitarra
German: die Gitarre
Italian: la chitarra
Greek: i kithara

That said, when languages were formed, it was a male dominated society. It would not have been socially acceptable to name an object you are very close to using the same gender. If guitars were played predominately by women, I suspect they'd have male names.

[s2y]

Ok, maybe this one could be considered female.

[scriv58]

I have too much respect for my guitars to bestow upon them such a dubious gender assignation

[Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by menhir

I've wondered why so many languages assign genders to nouns that way. Spanish and French in my own experience and I'm sure many others, but the practice never carried over into English.

We may choose to assign a gender, but it's not part of the language.

I can't speak to my guitars because I refer to them by their "given" names or descriptions: The Seagull, The Ibis, The Flamenco etc., all gender neutral.

I do get around to naming things from time to time...
My motorcycle is definitely a she. She has a name, too: Saya.

I have a close friend who is a Polish immigrant. He is always assigning genders to English nouns. I asked him and he told me it's part of his native tongue so I guess it's not limited to the Romance languages.

Yeah - it is weird and when I was learning French, it was not at all easy to keep track. There's just no rhyme nor reason to it. For example, the French word for female genitals is somehow assigned the male gender.

I don't typically name things - but I did own a 1967 Volvo 122 in high school, and I named her "Gretchen"

They do look like they ought to be Gretchens, don't they?

[mercy]

Yes I do find it odd and makes me wonder about those that use she. I only use it.

[TKT]

I've named all my autos and some motos, one bicycle, no guitars, three ukes. They are all referenced by "the (brand-model-color)". Trucks are usually male, due to burliness. I read somewhere that if one names a vehicle, they generally take better care of it.

[Guitars+gems]

I'm a woman and I don't assign gender to guitars or other objects. It doesn't bother me when others do, after all, guitars are beautiful and I understand the tradition of it. But the comparisons start to go too far when some men liken guitars too closely to the female body, talk about drooling on them, hands all over them, and referring to the soundholes. Get a room.

[Clarky40]

German does assign gender to objects, and guitar is feminine.

die Gitarre

[Rosewood99]

I refer my guitars as "guitar" or "it." No need to pretend it's alive.

[hairpuller]

No longer are hurricanes only female names. Apparently, a few ladies were offended by that. This world is a crack up, no?

scott

[jrs146]

Originally Posted by Guitars+gems

I'm a woman and I don't assign gender to guitars or other objects. It doesn't bother me when others do, after all, guitars are beautiful and I understand the tradition of it. But the comparisons start to go too far when some men liken guitars too closely to the female body, talk about drooling on them, hands all over them, and referring to the soundholes. Get a room.

Lol. I suppose I do refer to a guitar as a she, but I’ve never used she and soundhole in the same sentence!

[Guitars+gems]

I appreciate that!

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by hairpuller

No longer are hurricanes only female names.

Only seems fair, no?

[Seagull S6]

Originally Posted by s2y

Ok, maybe this one could be considered female.

Isn't that David Bowie? So probably not a "she".