We all assign our vehicles some sort of personality based on their traits. Whether it be the guy with the axe from the Brawny® paper towel wrapper that comes to mind every time your see your F250, or the chick from An Education as you slip behind the wheel of your Se7en, something must come to mind. We tend to anthropomorphize everything from our cell phones (stop touching it!) to our food (Charlie Tuna anyone?), to even our conveyances. We know that ships have traditionally been referred to in the feminine, but that practice hasn’t transitioned to personal transportation with equal furvor. There’s no common knowledge of the familial form of address that gladiators applied to their chariots, nor has the pioneer’s conestoga wagon been known in the feminine, despite being most commonly referred to as a prairie schooner. But we all know our cars, and we know what gender they imbue. While it’s not based on the bosom-evoking headlight shapes, or the smirk-inducing pair of truck nuts hanging off the back, there is an immutable character that each possesses, and to which we assign a personality, and yes, even a sex. So that being said, what pops to mind at the sight of your ride? Does it evoke an address in the feminine? Or, is it butcher than Rosie O’Donnell? Do its idiosyncrasies remind you of someone you’ve known, transferring your image of their personality onto it? What kind of girl (or guy) is your car? Image sources: [gaffa.dk, vwkombi.com]
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