That Turnip Is a Girl, and That Girl Is An ‘It’

<p>When you think about the moon, what gender is it? If your native language is Italian, Spanish, or Russian, you may think of the moon as feminine. If your native language is Bengali, Hindi, German, or Hebrew, you may think of the moon as masculine.</p> <p>In reality, the moon is a genderless orb floating around the other genderless orb we call home.</p> <p>Why do languages ascribe gender to genderless things? Why is the default gender typically male in many languages? And how do gendered languages impact how its speakers perceive gender within their cultures?</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/language-lab/that-turnip-is-a-girl-and-that-girl-is-an-it-03a8bb506876"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>