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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

232 replies

HibiscusIsland1 · 02/09/2026 14:45

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?

OP posts:
UniquePinkSwan · 02/09/2026 16:45

My robot vacuum is a he called Clive

Marellain · 02/09/2026 16:48

I’m very exited today! Where’s all my bronzer loving girlies at?! There’s a hot new edit from pukeybydingbat, she’s gorgeous and I am obsessed! Grab your coffee, I’m going to swatch them all for you!

aka ‘ bye this, commission paid’.

5682Jhd · 02/09/2026 16:50

Its stupid, along with the obsession of tapping everything.

Thecows · 02/09/2026 16:50

Grinds my gears is pretty dreadful tbh

What is vocal fry please?

Imdunfer · 02/09/2026 16:54

BerryTwister · 02/09/2026 15:11

@ThePeppyOpalScroller referring to vehicles as "she" is a longstanding tradition. From looking at the Imperial War Museum website, it's hypothesised that it was used by sailors in reference to protective goddesses, and has since been adopted for all vehicles.

OP is referring to a modern trend of calling handbags, dresses etc "she".

Show quote history

I have read that with cars it was because engines at the time were fickle and tricky to keep happy, so they referred to anything with an engine in it as female!

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 02/09/2026 16:56

Thecows · 02/09/2026 16:50

Grinds my gears is pretty dreadful tbh

What is vocal fry please?

Vocal Fry is the horrible gratey sound beloved of young ladies especially.
I don't know why they do it , elongated the end of the word but with a throatiness.

Practically every female voice on YouTube does it some worse than others.
I don't do Tik Tok . If combust 😆

Lifeomars · 02/09/2026 16:57

The word "haul" makes me cringe when it is being used by influencers for their videos of the latest load of stuff they have bought from Temu/Shien/Primark/The Range/B and M/Home Bargains. I must confess to hate watching a few on YouTube and wondering where on earth they put all the things they buy every month, how can they ever wear even a quarter of it, how many handbags,(" it's giving me Chanel vibes") how much costume jewellery, toiletries does one person actually use? Do they send half of it back, sell it on? how much money can you make on YouTube by just filming yourself going round these places every month and then then wafting on about it online?

Quebeccles · 02/09/2026 17:03

Thank you for saying this @HibiscusIsland1. I heard ‘Ooh, she’s a feisty one!’ squealed about a jar of sourdough starter the other day and wanted to rip my own head off. It seems especially prevalent about food items being made. I HATE IT.

Buscobel · 02/09/2026 17:11

@Daygloboo , they are phrases beloved of the likes of Trinny Woodhall. Instead of saying ‘red lipstick’ or ‘a pair of black trousers’ they are used in the singular.

Sunbringer · 02/09/2026 17:13

It’s not exactly that new. Ships, swords, houses are all ‘she’ and have been since forever.

Sunbringer · 02/09/2026 17:13

Lifeomars · 02/09/2026 16:57

The word "haul" makes me cringe when it is being used by influencers for their videos of the latest load of stuff they have bought from Temu/Shien/Primark/The Range/B and M/Home Bargains. I must confess to hate watching a few on YouTube and wondering where on earth they put all the things they buy every month, how can they ever wear even a quarter of it, how many handbags,(" it's giving me Chanel vibes") how much costume jewellery, toiletries does one person actually use? Do they send half of it back, sell it on? how much money can you make on YouTube by just filming yourself going round these places every month and then then wafting on about it online?

They sell it on Vinted and buy more

StarCourt · 02/09/2026 17:15

I saw an ad on FB today referencing dehydration as she!

AdjectiveColourNoun · 02/09/2026 17:16

PrettyPickle · 02/09/2026 16:11

It’s true that people have named ships, cars and even fur coats for centuries - but that’s not really what the OP was talking about.

There are three different traditions being mashed together:

Nautical tradition - ships, boats and sometimes cars have historically been referred to as she.
Anthropomorphism - giving objects personalities (“she’s a beauty”, “she’s temperamental”).
Influencer‑speak - the Insta version, which is less tradition and more branding tone:

  • “She’s giving autumn vibes.”
  • “She’s my new favourite bronzer.”
  • “Isn’t she gorgeous?”

This last one is what the OP is reacting to and it is a very particular online dialect.

The Insta version is a different creature entirely. It’s not the old nautical tradition or the French grammar rulebook; it’s a very specific social‑media voice where a bronzer becomes “she’s giving glow” and a handbag becomes “she’s my girl”. It’s less history and more curated‑aesthetic. Nobody’s denying that objects have been personified forever, it’s just that influencers have turned it into a whole performance style. Harmless, but definitely its own modern dialect.

Show quote history

Is this AI?

She can also fuck off

Mistyglade · 02/09/2026 17:18

Not come across it but if I did the persons responsible would be blocked / boycotted with immediate effect.

piscofrisco · 02/09/2026 17:21

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.

Show quote history

or ‘the wife’

Bargarran · 02/09/2026 17:23

Thecows · 02/09/2026 16:50

Grinds my gears is pretty dreadful tbh

What is vocal fry please?

Vocal Fry is a speech affectation started, probably, by the likes of the Kardashians and Katy Perry. At its absolute worst it's like this. Be warned, it's like nails down a blackboard....

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/yec77v0WwLw?is=IYobWjRCMqItbvoy

PrettyPickle · 02/09/2026 17:29

AdjectiveColourNoun · 02/09/2026 17:16

Is this AI?

She can also fuck off

Show quote history

No I am not AI, I don't need AI to string a sentence together thanks, a real northern lass and I am going nowhere. Just rude.

fiveyo · 02/09/2026 17:30

Iris2020 · 02/09/2026 15:41

Agh yes. It irritates me almost as much as nhs literature referring to babies as "she". I'd rather have "they" or even "it" than "she" or "he" for a baby who might be of the opposite sex.

When i was pregnant I got those 'your baby is the size of an apple' type emails and i noticed they used to alternate. One week it was a girl, one week it was a boy, which I found odd.

Piknik · 02/09/2026 17:30

I agree with the poster upthread who said the nausea comes from the grown women adopting this particular language on social media as a sort of faux, whimsical lifestyle aesthetic. It's completely inauthentic and smacks of slightly desperately trying to sound young and on-trend.

FWIW my doom scroll bug bare is all those twatty lifestyle tips captioned with things like "My grandma taught me this" "I learned this from a Chef" "From now on I'm doing this" and equally tedious claims. Fuck off. Do the tip if you must, but stop with the nonsense.

fiveyo · 02/09/2026 17:32

StarCourt · 02/09/2026 17:15

I saw an ad on FB today referencing dehydration as she!

I can't even imagine how that would work..? 😂

Can you recall the sentence?

ethelredonagoodday · 02/09/2026 17:34

FreddoEspresso · 02/09/2026 16:27

Gaaahhhh... This is nails down a blackboard for me. I might have been obsessed with something/someone 3 times in my life, yet these influencers are obsessed with something every half an hour!

Though I find it more forgivable when it's Gen Z. Gen X, not remotely.

It's giving STFU!!!

Show quote history

completely agree. This is said multiple times a week by some of them. And it’s all just trying to flog you stuff that you do not need, and neither do they!
I also detest ‘curated’.

Daygloboo · 02/09/2026 17:36

Buscobel · 02/09/2026 17:11

@Daygloboo , they are phrases beloved of the likes of Trinny Woodhall. Instead of saying ‘red lipstick’ or ‘a pair of black trousers’ they are used in the singular.

Oh no. Not those two. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣....
Minny and Old Spanner.

RafaFan · 02/09/2026 17:50

MyThreeWords · 02/09/2026 15:34

My lovely old nana referred to every object as "he" (pronounced "ee" in her accent). I suppose if she had been talking about ships etc she might have deferred to the manly convention of calling everything they could steer "she". But she wasn't the seafaring type and I can only remember her talking about kettles, chairs, and such like.

Was she from the west country/south coast? My late MIL (New Forest born and bred) also referred to objects as he. Another of her expressions was "where's it to?" meaning "where is it?"

moita · 02/09/2026 17:50

A teenager in front of me squeezed a loaf of bread that she was buying and said to her mum 'she's giving squishy'. Her mum gave her a withering look.