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Museum stopped calling ships 'she' and 'her' to recognise changes in society, not in response to vandalism, director says

Former navy chief criticises move as 'political correctness gone mad'

Chris Baynes
Wednesday 24 April 2019 17:18 BST
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A vandal defaced signs at the Scottish Maritime Museum that referred to boats with feminine pronouns
A vandal defaced signs at the Scottish Maritime Museum that referred to boats with feminine pronouns

A maritime museum has begun referring to ships using gender-neutral terminology to recognise “changes in society”.

The Scottish Maritime Museum is to replace signs which use feminine pronouns for boats, a tradition which dates back centuries. Instead of "she" or "her", vessels will now be referred to as "it".

However, the museum denied reports the decision had been forced by vandalism.

Twice in the past four months a visitor to the museum in Irvine, North Ayrshire, has defaced signage referring to vessels as “she” and “her”.

Staff posted pictures of the most recent vandalism on social media last week, showing the pronouns scratched out on an information board about a private steamer which ferried Queen Victoria in 1873.

The museum’s Facebook post said: “We are a charity and our signs are very expensive! We can’t afford to replace all signs but new signs are gender neutral.”

Some news outlets reported that the move towards gender neutrality had been prompted by vandals, while commenters on social media accused the museum of letting “one criminal’s occasional activity … set a museum’s policy”.

But the museum told The Independent it had begun to drop gendered terminology before the vandalism. It said it had limited funds so could only install new signs in stages.

David Mann, the museum's director, said: “We have, like other museums, recognised changes in society, and were moving to gender neutral interpretation when introducing new interpretation.

“This process was in place prior to this isolated act of vandalism by one person.

“As a small charity we have limited funds to replace interpretation and this vandalism means that we will be unable to spend money in other areas. We hope by highlighting this we will stop further acts of this nature and not incur undue expense.”

A former head of the Royal Navy criticised the decision to move away from gendered terms as “political correctness gone mad”.

“It is an insult to a generation of sailors. The ships are seen almost as a mother to preserve us from the dangers of the sea and also from the violence of the enemy,” Admiral Lord West told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. The retired naval chief was so incensed by the news he called the station studio to comment.

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The museum is not the first maritime organisation to drop gendered pronouns.

Lloyd's List, a shipping publication, stopped referring to ships as feminine in 2002. Editor Julian Bray wrote at the time: "The shipping industry does need to move forward if it is not to risk becoming a backwater of international business. I decided that it was time to catch up with the rest of the world."

Ships have been widely referred to as feminine since at least 1375. The origins of the seafaring tradition are unclear, but some historians believe sailors linked femininity to motherhood and protection.

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