JadeW

Why are ships always female?

David Woodward, Dover, UK

• Ships are frequently or even usually female, but not always. In particular, in the Second World War the German battleship Bismarck, and another ship built to the same specifications, were regarded as being so magnificent that they were described using male terms.

  Jeremy Reynolds, London

• This sexist practice may be dying out especially among people who actually use ships. I hope so. I heard a few years ago a radio interview with the pilot of a hovercraft. The interviewer persistently referred to the vessel as "she". The pilot just as persistently referred to it as "it".

  Susan Deal, Sheffield UK