Mountain Gender Poll & Thoughts

Over the years I've had the opportunity to read some of the older hiking books, like Sweetser's guide, and Burt's The Story of Mount Washington, and others. I've also made it my goal to read all TR's, even if it's an area or state I've never hiked and don't plan on in the near future. So, I was wondering, have you noticed an inclination or tendency to refer to the Mountains in any particular gender? whether in speech or writing? Do you say "He's a tough mountain", "She's a tough mountain", "It's a tough mountain", or "What a tough mountain" ? Do they have a gender personality to you? I've looked over the publications to see if there has ever been a definite leaning, but can't find any. Has anyone else?
I'm not taking into account any grammatical rules, for instance, if I remember Russian well, they have a tendency of inanimate objects, like a ship for example, if I'm correct, taking a masculine gender. I don't want to be too technical. I have no problems with English, but I do hate math, algebra in particular.

Neither....or both. I view the mountains and the trail as Life. As a Power that is connected with Everything. I'm not a religious person, but I suppose I am a spiritual one....and the mountains and trails are the places I go to "connect."

I definitely think each mountain has its own personality.

I'll have to ponder about the gender thing......

Language gender is a funny thing. "Mountain" was originally an adjective, therefore neuter. The original noun "mount" derives from a word that was male in Latin and whose modern equivalent is male in all Romance languages. But the modern cognates of "mountain" are all female. Thus, in French for example, you would say "le Mont Blanc est une belle montagne" - "Mont Blanc {literally, the [male] White Mount} is a [female] beautiful mountain"

Strange about Russian ships. In English tradition, ships are almost always considered female, even though masculine names are common.

Edit: example: One of the US Navy's first purpose-built warships, the USS Constitution, became known as "Old Ironsides" after I-forget-who shouted, during a naval battle, when British [captured from the French, but that's another story] cannonballs bounced off, "Hurrah! Her sides are made of iron!"

I don't think mountains have an identity gender for me. Well, sometimes when the weather changes suddenly, she's what the Russians call a dynamistka

hmmm...
The mountains can be cold and unforgiving with nagging wind and rain.(fem.?)
The mountains can be place to have muddy boots and smelly clothes. (masc.?)
The mountains can take one's breath away with natural beauty. (fem.?)
One sleeps in structures without window treatments and urinates in the bushes. (masc.?)
One can rest and be coddled, warmed and comforted by mother nature. (fem,?)

I think the way I describe the mountains may say more about me then it says about the mountains.

nartreb said:

Strange about Russian ships. In English tradition, ships are almost always considered female, even though masculine names are common.

I don't think mountains have an identity gender for me. Well, sometimes when the weather changes suddenly, she's what the Russians call a dynamistka

Click to expand...

That was my aunt (mother's sister) who taught me that. One of her first jobs was working for SAS at the New York Airport. She spoke 7 languages: Ukranian, Russian, German, French, Italian, Hungarian, and Polish. And yet, that's pretty much all I can remember. For some reason that stuck out to me. I just hope I'm remembering correctly.

I couldn't decide how to vote. Kinda got thinking about the time I hiked Mt. Ellen and Mt. Abraham. I would generally think that Ellen is a female mountain and Abraham is a male mountain. If they were both of the same sex, it might suggest that one of them was a transsexual mountain

Marty

I think that in traditional shipping terminology, ships are "she" but in a PC kind of world "it" or "the vessel" has preference. I was brought up to think spiritually of God as "Father-Mother" rather than male and think that has transferred to thinking of most objects being gender-neutral.

nartreb said:

The original noun "mount" derives from a word that was male in Latin and whose modern equivalent is male in all Romance languages.

Click to expand...

In Classical Greek, on the other hand, the noun for "mountain" - "to oros," transliterated - was neuter. In Greek mythology, a number of specific mountains were apparently thought to have resident deities - called "Ta Ourea" (which is just a plural form of "to oros") and, according to Hesiod, children of Gaia (Mother Earth). The ones I've heard of were male (e.g. Olympus and Helicon), except for the goddess Aitna (the volcano in Sicily we call "Aetna").

To me, ships are female but mountains are neuter. (As to Old Ironsides, I'm sure I wasn't the only kid who went to grade school in greater Boston in the '50s and '60s and had to memorize the famous poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, which includes the lines "Aye, tear her tattered ensign down!" and "Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,".)

I voted neutral but I could have been indifferent but names like Nipple Top & Grand Tetons do spark images.

Baxter Peak, the most gorgeous woman in New England

Amicus said:

In Classical Greek, on the other hand, the noun for "mountain" - "to oros," transliterated - was neuter. In Greek mythology, a number of specific mountains were apparently thought to have resident deities - called "Ta Ourea" (which is just a plural form of "to oros") and, according to Hesiod, children of Gaia (Mother Earth). The ones I've heard of were male (e.g. Olympus and Helicon), except for the goddess Aitna (the volcano in Sicily we call "Aetna").

Click to expand...

That's kinda a good point. I was just trying off the top of my head to think of any of the White Mountains named after females. All I can think of right off are Mt Nancy & Mt Martha.
Plus, there always a factor that some mountains get a "killer" reputation, where losses of life are common, or at least, not surprising. But that's almost a whole different thing.
Soemtimes I just think that for myself it ranges all three classes, male, female, and neutral. Maybe it just depends on the experience with them or the present feelings at the time. Could also be a reflection of we ourselves and our background ,I suppose.

As is the case about 80% of the time, my answer is not among the choices on the poll. That is, it depends. I frequently say things like, "she's a real beauty" when referring to a mountain, yet I think of some in a more masculine way, such as Giant, Dix (no snickering), the Presidentials, etc. Sometimes it has to do with their names, other times its just a gut thing. Having said that, I've been known to call any of them a "mother" while they are spanking my sorry a$$.

I am into transgender mountains.

I’ve always looked at the mountains as fruitless fertile androgynously hermaphroditic sensitive uncaring bumps on the Venusian landscape of Mother Earth carved by the Martian hand of Father Time but I didn’t see a check box for that.

JohnL

Fisher Cat said:

...So, I was wondering, have you noticed an inclination or tendency to refer to the Mountains in any particular gender? whether in speech or writing? Do you say "He's a tough mountain", "She's a tough mountain", "It's a tough mountain", or "What a tough mountain" ? Do they have a gender personality to you?

Click to expand...

Depends on the mountain. In the TR I wrote after hiking Liberty and Flume, I definitely personified Lafayette and Lincoln as male, and Liberty and Flume as female. Your question got me to thinking about how I would personify other peaks...

Lafayette - male dragon
Lincoln - male
Liberty - female, like Lady Liberty
Flume - female, Libery's introverted sister
Cannon - male, skier
Garfield - male (and possibly orange and furry in the fall *grin*)
Galehead - female
Isolation - female (well worth visiting, but she likes her solitude)
Madison - female, while other presidentials: Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson are male
The Twins - North is male, while South is female
The Bonds - all female
The Kinsmans - are really Kinswomen
Tom and Willey - male
Field - is having a gender identity crisis
Cabot - male, involved with the boy scouts
Waumbek - female
Moriah - female
Carter Dome - male
Carters - gender identity not yet determined, nor do they care
Wildcats - female, Wildcat A definitely female overlooking handsome Carter Notch (male)
Tecumseh - not sure yet, in support group with Field
Osceola and East Osceloa - sister and brother respectfully
Hale - bisexual
Zealand - female
Carrigain - male
Owls Head - animal personality rather than human because others are always trying to "own"/control it like a pet (sign on, sign off, sign on, sign off...)
Moosilauke - male, very windy
Tripyramids - male, tricky, reminds me of Bart Simpson
Passaconaway - male, rugged
Whiteface - female, beautiful
Hancocks - brother/sister team

Can you tell I'm procrastinating?
Roxi

Mountains are usually gender-neutral to me.

My car and all my power tools, on the other hand, are female.

Roxi said:

Hancocks - brother/sister team


Roxi

Click to expand...

That's definitely an interesting viewpoint. Sort of a family arrangement. Not an angle I would have thought of.

I didn't vote...

because I haven't thought about this much.

I'll tell you this though, I inevitably say, "That was a bitch!" after hiking one.

KDT

roadtripper said:

Baxter Peak, the most gorgeous woman in New England

Click to expand...

Ah, but "Katahdin in all ITS glory . . . "

It is gorgeous, though, I agree with you there Roadtripper.