Gender
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 asked, 'What gender is a computer?'
The teacher
was not certain so he divided the class into two groups, males in one and
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 ladies
concluded that computers were masculine 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 realise that if you had waited a little
longer, you could have had a better model.
The boys, on
the other hand, decided computers should definitely be referred to as
feminine 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 pay on accessories for it.
