Talk:Lady

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Question: is the term 'lady' used colloquially in different ways in the US, the UK, etc?

In the US, "lady" can be used interchangeably with "woman" in a strictly informal way.

I'm not sure if this holds true outside the US.

The term "Lady" is one of social status, and I strongly disagree with the use of it as a generic for any female. Used as such it is a euphemism and an unpleasant one at that! Does anyone object if I delete the assertion at the top of the article: ""Lady" can be used as a title, or as a (formal) form of address for any woman."? The subsection "More recent usage: social class" just about says it all.
Nick Michael 21:39, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] kenny rogers

Sorry. But I think the song should be a separate entry. 70.177.68.209 00:13, 9 July 2006 (UTC

[edit] Gibson girls ladies?

I propose deleting the Gibson girl image from this article, as being a misleading "image" of a "Lady". Gibson girls were not (necessarily) ladies: they were the equivalent of today's fashion models, or high-society girls. I mean, would you call Paris Hilton a lady?

The trouble is, I believe, that British and American usages differ so much regarding this word that they probably need two different articles: Lady (USA) and Lady (Britain). I suppose that's more than we can hope for though.

For me (Brit), a lady is not necessarily beautiful, nor (like her male counterpart, who does not necessarily open doors for women), can she be defined by someone who uses a butter knife even when she is alone (this definition is a joke of Nancy Mitford's - who was most certainly a lady).

Taking it back to its roots, a Lady is a woman "of family". This makes (in my experience) for redoubtable females of personality (not necessarily pleasant), and, as far as the country version is concerned, often with the complexion of a deep-sea fisherman (Nancy Mitford again). P. G. Wodehouse knew what a lady was, and aunts Agatha and Dahlia are the best references I can think of for the animal in question.

If no one replies or comments on this, I think the rules allow me to act in a few days, whereupon I shall remove the inaccurate image - and meanwhile look for one more appropriate.

Nick Michael 06:43, 26 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] This article is wrong in one instance, questionable in another, and self-contradictory in a third==

Wrong: The paragraph on the use of the word "Lady" as a "customary" but not "proper" for the wife of a knight when the knight is also not a Lord or King and the wife has no titles, throne, or knighthoods in her own right. It's never a title (Duke, Duchess, Earl, Countess, etc., variously followed by "of" or not). It is a style of address (Sir, Your Grace, Dr.).

Questionable: Is "customary" as used here a euphemism for "wrong"? The article on "Dame" says that it was "formerly" the style of address for the wife of a knight, but was replaced by "Lady" during the 17th century. But there is no citation, no first known case of a Knight's wife who was granted the style of address "Lady". In the absence of such a citation there and no more clarity in the article here, no reader can be sure that this is not another example of heraldic inflation the most common form of which is people who have a coat of arms but no crest referring to their coat of arms as a "crest", fraudulently inflating their heraldic status. If research shows that in fact it is only in common speech and not in law that a knight's wife is a "lady", then the word "customary" should be changed to "wrong". As wrong as referring to any sweet soda as "a coke" and any photocopier as "a xerox".

Self-contradictory: As to whether "Lady" is the correct style of address for the wife of a knight as described above, this article says that "Dame" is "proper", but used only in sepulchral monuments (where, according to this Article, the form is as in "Dame Jane Smith") and in legal documents (where, according to this Article, the form is as in "Sir John and The Lady Smith".) But how can the form "Sir John and The Lady Smith" be an example of how "Dame" is used in legal documents when the word "Dame" does not OCCUR in the form "Sir John and The Lady Smith"? I do not profess to know what is correct (except that "style of address" and "title" are not the same thing), but any reader who does not know what is correct can tell that an article which contradicts itself must be incorrect in at least one place, even if the reader cannot tell which of the two contradictory statements is incorrect.

64.131.188.104 08:31, 13 October 2007 (UTC)Christopher L. Simpson