Why is England refered to as a female?

Question

I have always been told that when talking about England then I have to say she. It's been done all through history. Im not complaining cos I am Femle. I would just like to know why.

Answer 1

A lot of countries have a feminine identity, France, Britain, etc. I think this comes from the Latin form of a country's name, which is generally feminine, e.g. Britannia for Britain, and Francia for France. Note that "America" is the Latin feminine form of the name Amerigo Vespucci.

Answer 2

Great question, that unfortunately I can't answer. Further on it though, why would the Irish and Scots (Gaelic) be the only ones in Europe to refer to England as male.. The other cultures all refer to England in a feminine form, apart from a few who consider the country to be without a sexe: the Dutch, the German and the Old English. Yes, England first became a damsel in the Renaissance..

Answer 3

It could be man tend to represent the active creator and female is the passive created. So things tend to be female.
The word man is male because it represents work and occupation so a postman is a male word that can represent a woman postman too. Somehow a post-person is not the right word.
Gender of words can cause a lot of 'problems' but the German word for girl is a masculine word! an they are not stupid. (check their GDP) The gender of a word is more about category than actual reproduction.
The word man is not someone with a penis. It always was both sexes - until recent confusion!

Answer 4

It is a common practice to refer to countries in the female, and it is not just England, but all countries. It goes back to the tradition of having a national personification, almost like a kind of national goddess, usually a woman dressed in Ancient robes.
There are other areas where entities or objects are collectively assumed to be female. That includes political parties and clubs, all ships and boats, steam engines and locomotives. Soldiers do also give female names to their personal weapons.

Answer 5

I agree with previous postings about referring to things as female.

Also, Britain is often associated with a female figurehead, Britannia (hence 'Rule Britannia'). I am not certain of the origin of this but suspect it is related to some kind of romanticisation of the Bodiceia/Boudicca myth. As a classics student I also find that the representation of her reminds me a lot of the Greek warrior-goddess Athene as well.

Answer 6

When England was under Roman rule, the land was suppose to be home to Britannia, a Female god of war that drove around in a chariot. The land of Britannia, as in referring to her land. that is why England is a Lady.

Answer 7

It's true, England and France are the Motherland but Germany was the Fatherland.

Perhaps because the English see their country as nurturing while the Germans see theirs as controlling.

Answer 8

Ships - I don't understand. Countries, yes. I think it's the fact that it is where you were born, the land that we are supposed to live off, the land that feeds us. Everything that is nurturing (air, water, food, warmth etc.) comes from this land. It nurtures you like a mother would nurture the child. Even if you move to another country as an adult, the land of that new country still nurtures you (like a step mother would if, God forbid, your own mother died). So I think it naturally came to people's minds to call it a she, and I don't believe anybody ever thought of calling it a he.

Answer 9

Not only for England but all countries or nations. Also for all ships and the earth
But don't get confused and nothing to worry about, it's just only another grammatical matters

Answer 10

Because we love her - Britannia. She was the spirit of the UK, back in the days of empire and Queen Victoria (and before), etc.

Other countries vary in 'gender', Russia is called 'Mother Russia' and Germany the 'Fatherland'.

This can also give an insight into the people of the countries, though I'll leave that to you.