Isn't "she" gorgeous? Look at "her".......argh!

HibiscusIsland1 · 2026-09-02T13:45:32+00:00

This trend (on Insta etc) for referring to inanimate objects as "she"........it is infuriating - handbags, holiday homes, bronzer......make it stop! I'm a 50 year old women and largely follow women of a similar age. It's infantile and ridiculous. AiBU?

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 10/09/2026 12:02

Rpop · 05/09/2026 08:45

Let’s make it simple and call every inanimate object ‘it’. Whether or not it’s a car, boat or handbag. It’s a weird generational affectation and it’s bound to irritate a whole chunk of society (rightly or wrongly). It attracts attention to the odd choice of pronoun and means people are either not actually listening to what you are saying because they are irked or they are wondering why you are doing this!!

(And yes, I’m aware ships have been called ‘she’ historically but clearly it hardly happens now).

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I have just been on a ship.
Refered to as 'She' by the crew or by name

Bargarran · 10/09/2026 11:05

AInightingale · 02/09/2026 16:14

Quite often with this type of man, their female partner will be 'she' or 'her' too...and rarely named.

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That's a hell of a leap...😆

WiltonGal · 05/09/2026 11:15

I saw a random Instagram post of an independent boutique on Instagram. It was a young woman’s shop in UK. I thought the clothes looked interesting so looked at her other recent posts. She said in one, I am going to give you a tour around my shop in a normal voice then did that really irritating placing the back of her hands under her chin at an angle. That’s another infantilising “cutesy” gesture that needs to go in the bin, it’s not cute and it’s not befitting of a business woman. Needless to say I didn’t bother to look at the clothes.

Rpop · 05/09/2026 08:45

motherofakoalaboy · 04/09/2026 19:10

i don’t talk about it other then maybe casually texting my best friend “i bought her. i can’t wait for (insert name) to arrive” i just don’t see how that is more weird then a car or boat.

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Let’s make it simple and call every inanimate object ‘it’. Whether or not it’s a car, boat or handbag. It’s a weird generational affectation and it’s bound to irritate a whole chunk of society (rightly or wrongly). It attracts attention to the odd choice of pronoun and means people are either not actually listening to what you are saying because they are irked or they are wondering why you are doing this!!

(And yes, I’m aware ships have been called ‘she’ historically but clearly it hardly happens now).

Bargarran · 05/09/2026 00:18

motherofakoalaboy · 04/09/2026 18:13

so a guy naming calling his car she is fine or his boat. but a handbag i love and treasure and spend over half or a year debating if i should treat myself is lesser and can only referred to as it? i am every bit as attached to my handbag as someone might be to their boat or car

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Yes, you've got it. Certain things have traditionally been given the feminine pronoun, but things like handbags and shoes? Don't be so ridiculous.

SmallandSpanish · 05/09/2026 00:00

when you go on a autumn ‘haul’ with ‘this one’ and both ‘invest’ in the same ‘capsule’ ‘hero’ ‘piece’. I’m ‘pairing’ mine with a wide leg ‘Jean’, a ballet flat and bangs. It’s ‘giving’ Audrey.

ChuisEpuisee · 04/09/2026 23:32

Haven't RTFRT so apologies if this has been raised, but I always thought this linguistic quirk arose from drag queens and the queer community, and had sort of surfaced more in popular online culture after things like Ru Paul's Drag Race etc?

It's sort of turned into a generically Gen Z thing though ( get that.

My son was just talking today about how Shakespeare allegedly invented absolutely loads of new words and phrases - I wonder if people at that time were having the same frustrated/baffled discussions 😁

Stelladid · 04/09/2026 23:25

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 04/09/2026 17:11

Oh , I'll add everything being "super"

I'm super busy but I'm super excited for to try this super easy recipe

Oh. Super.

Yes and don’t start me on the over and inappropriate use of Awesome. The Grand Canyon is awesome. The deserts of Namibia are awesome. A pizza, lipstick or a simple agreement is not in the least awe inspiring!

Stelladid · 04/09/2026 23:20

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 04/09/2026 17:05

Same here. I am 60 yo. I am not, never have been and never will be "A Guy"

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I’m 67. I have no problem with guys, but I dislike being called love, darling or pet. If anyone calls me Hun, I have a mental image of steam coming out of my ears. I loath it! So, your age may not be relevant here.

Floatlikeafeather2 · 04/09/2026 23:18

5MinuteArgument · 04/09/2026 10:37

Yes, it's a bit of an old Bristolian thing to refer to inanimate objects as a gender. The older members of my family used to do it. But it was always 'him' not 'her'.

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Yes, interestingly it was usually male in Bristol but "er" and she in Gloucestershire.

motherofakoalaboy · 04/09/2026 19:10

KilkennyCats · 04/09/2026 18:25

You’re at perfect liberty to call your bag anything you like, but you can’t make it not weird 🤷🏻‍♀️
How long do you spend talking about it that it’s even an issue?

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i don’t talk about it other then maybe casually texting my best friend “i bought her. i can’t wait for (insert name) to arrive” i just don’t see how that is more weird then a car or boat.

KilkennyCats · 04/09/2026 18:25

motherofakoalaboy · 04/09/2026 18:13

so a guy naming calling his car she is fine or his boat. but a handbag i love and treasure and spend over half or a year debating if i should treat myself is lesser and can only referred to as it? i am every bit as attached to my handbag as someone might be to their boat or car

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You’re at perfect liberty to call your bag anything you like, but you can’t make it not weird 🤷🏻‍♀️
How long do you spend talking about it that it’s even an issue?

motherofakoalaboy · 04/09/2026 18:13

HibiscusIsland1 · 03/09/2026 20:21

How many more posters are going to helpfully inform us that "she" has been used for ships since time immemorial!?!

Yes, we know that. This is different.......

so a guy naming calling his car she is fine or his boat. but a handbag i love and treasure and spend over half or a year debating if i should treat myself is lesser and can only referred to as it? i am every bit as attached to my handbag as someone might be to their boat or car

SomeOtherUser · 04/09/2026 17:54

Meh, I don't hate that - haven't even noticed. However, I despise the reels where the creator holds a hand over their mouth in a close-up shot and shakes their head in stunned silence over some uninteresting event or observation.

Or even worse: "They said <something no one has ever said about them>", followed by the creator disproving that something. Mindless shite. 🙄

TooOrangey · 04/09/2026 17:19

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 04/09/2026 17:05

Same here. I am 60 yo. I am not, never have been and never will be "A Guy"

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I don’t mind ‘guys’ at all. I see it as gender neutral in contemporary usage. I manage 13 people, men and women, if I’m sending a team email, I’ll often start it ‘Hi guys’. My predecessor used to start group emails with just ‘Team’ which I found corporate and cold.

What I really loathe is ‘Ladies’…

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 04/09/2026 17:11

Oh , I'll add everything being "super"

I'm super busy but I'm super excited for to try this super easy recipe

Oh. Super.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 04/09/2026 17:05

Bowies · 03/09/2026 22:02

Oh hello guys is the worst. I especially hate it at work.

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Same here. I am 60 yo. I am not, never have been and never will be "A Guy"

Lilifer · 04/09/2026 13:18

Trends come and go, and most of them are irritating as is this one 🫤

Nettie1964 · 04/09/2026 13:16

The tapping with long claws on any product sends me nuclear. Restocking videos with attendant fake noises. I feel like my head is going to explode when its a "restocking my 11 yr olds makeup station".

Bargarran · 04/09/2026 12:55

Stelladid · 04/09/2026 12:31

Me too. That one doesn’t bother me (referring to a mixed group as guys)!

Edited

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Agreed. It's harmless. Sometimes I say guys and gals or chaps and chapettes for a laugh..😆

Stelladid · 04/09/2026 12:31

rb124 · 03/09/2026 23:27

I have to admit to using that if I'm greeting a mixed group.

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Me too. That one doesn’t bother me (referring to a mixed group as guys)!

BillieWiper · 04/09/2026 10:42

Buscobel · 02/09/2026 14:47

It’s from the same mould as ‘a red lip’, ‘a black trouser’. Nonsense!

No it's not. That's just how people in fashion talk about clothes and it's filtered down. Nothing like calling objects 'she'?

JeanSimmons · 04/09/2026 10:41

TheLovelinessOfDemons · 04/09/2026 10:13

This is a huge leap.

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No, it isn't.

5MinuteArgument · 04/09/2026 10:37

Floatlikeafeather2 · 02/09/2026 18:15

Oh I'm a Wiltshire girl but also lived in Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. My parents were from Bristol, Grandparents from Bristol and Somerset. I live in Cumbria now and I've never heard anyone do anything similar. I find dialects fascinating.

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Yes, it's a bit of an old Bristolian thing to refer to inanimate objects as a gender. The older members of my family used to do it. But it was always 'him' not 'her'.

TheLovelinessOfDemons · 04/09/2026 10:13

JeanSimmons · 02/09/2026 15:21

Not me thinking that this is about trans 'women'.

This is a huge leap.