Anthropomorphizing Cameras - Do you find it odd?

I will occasionally refer to my cameras/lenses as if they were living creatures, but more like (genderless) livestock or pets than people, so I really zoomorphize them. As projectbluebird noted, mechanical cameras do tend to have different personalities.

I don't go so far as to give them special names, though. That would be weird.

BTW, I know plenty of women who anthropomorphize/zoomorphize their cars, cameras, etc.


M. Valdemar said:
Sometimes I'll read an ad for a camera or lens where the seller will describe it as a "she".

"I bought her a few years ago and she has only had a couple of rolls through her".

Others refer to all their equipment as female.

99% of the time the camera is referred to as a female. One rarely hears of anyone referring to a camera as a "he".

Women will rarely anthropomorphize their inanimate possessions.

Do you refer to your cameras as a human gender? Why?

How about cars, guns or other hobbyist possessions?

I find it a bit odd and disquieting when others do it. Does anyone find it strange or is this generally accepted?
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I think that gendering or anthropomorphizing a camera is an English thing only. French is my second language (though I've been speaking it my whole life so it may as well be a first), Spanish my third, and I speak enough Italian to know gender concepts. As others have mentioned, items in these languages have gender assigned to them automatically and when you refer to them in pronoun form you use the appropriate gender pronoun.

For example, in French, if I was talking about a fork I would say la fourchette. If I wanted to refer to the fork by pronoun form I could say elle. In english this would be "her" but in french it is "it" however the gender does help to let other people know which "it" you are referring to.

In any event, I don't anthropomorphize my cameras but I don't find it odd. Earlier someone had mentioned that males are probably more prone to it than females and I would agree on that account however I do know a few females who have named their car/computer/whatever.
 
fishtek said:
Don't assign names or gender to my cameras, but while I was still young and...er... adventurous, I called my cars "Rocinante"...It'll make sense to some...

Don
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That is the name I gave my bicycle... At least it has a saddle:)
 
Thinking the other way - anthropomorphizing offspring of all things, do you reckon there are any "Leica"s, "Nikon"s or err... "Diana"/"Holga"s on birth certificates?

"Canon" you could go a long way with a name like that.
 
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I know a photographer whose daughter's middle name is "Leica."

kully said:
Thinking the other way - anthropomorphizing offspring of all things, do you reckon there are any "Leica"s, "Nikon"s or err... "Diana"/"Holga"s on birth certificates?

"Canon" you could go a long way with a name like that.
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Perhaps it's because after awhile, men recognize that the female gender represents elegance, beauty and functionality. Oh, and get the job done, too! :p
Mary
 
PJRiley said:
Perhaps it's because after awhile, men recognize that the female gender represents elegance, beauty and functionality. Oh, and get the job done, too! :p
Mary
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Or because female names remind us of stubbornness, recalcitrance, logic-defying refusal to operate, and frequent breakdowns. I'm just sayin'.
 
I refer to my cars as 'she'... I don't do it to my cameras but instead I give them names, which people generally seem to view as much weirder behaviour. My M3 is Mr. White, my MP is Rudolf, my 35 Summicron-ASPH is called Snoopy... etc.
 
I name... most things I own and love. My truck is named Leroy. One of my old sweatshirts was named Stacy. I even named my old school bag from high school Monty.

I don't think it's so weird to name or assign a gender to things you've grown attached, too. I've got 270,000 miles on my truck (Ford) and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have taken as good care of it had I not named it and grown so attached.

But I suppose it was odd of me to assign a nationality to my computer when I named it Marty Flannagan.
 
I got a 50 Summilux-ASPH two weeks ago and I haven't figured out a name for her/him yet. This has been buggin' me a bit.
 
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