Computer, Maskulin or Feminine?

A French teacher was explaining to her class that in French, unlike

English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" is feminine - "la maison"

"Pencil" is masculine - "le crayon".

A student asked "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two

groups: male and female. And asked them to decide for themselves whether

"computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was

asked to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the

feminine gender ("la computer"), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is

incomprehensible to everyone else

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible

later review

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half

your salary on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be

masculine ("le computer"), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE

the problem, and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a better model