Thursday, January 22, 2004

She's no lady
When did "lady" become a verboten term? I fought against the moniker "girls" when I was young and now it is a almost a term of endearment. Now, it appears that the term "ladies" cannot be used.

About a year ago, a very gracious and gentle friend asked that she not be called a lady. She was raised in a genteel upper crust family and her mother was always admonishing her to "act like a lady" when she was in high spirits. OK. I understand and respect that.

Then the young females (is that OK?) in one of my husband's college classes insisted that they not be called ladies because it was prissy. Is this a trend? Did I miss something here?

When I was very young (before seatbelts), I leaned over the front seat of the car and asked, "Daddy, what's the difference between women and ladies?" He glanced at my mother and replied, "All females are women, but your mother..." pregnant pause, then "Your mother, she's a lady." Mom glowed. I glowed. And you can call me lady whether I'm acting like one or not.

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