<p>Whether “lady” is a weighted word or not is a matter of one’s own perceptions and experiences.</p>
<p>I agree that “young lady” is a different matter entirely.</p>
<p>If you want to be offended I guess you can find some reason to be offended. But, dismissing the user’s intent and just deciding that the word is a problem seems to me to be a sure fire way to walk around feeling annoyed which seems slightly pointless. Actually, the word has been making a comeback and lately I’ve noticed college woman routinely referring to themselves as ladies as in, “Hey ladies, come to blah-blah for pizza and info on such-and-such”. Young man sounds like scolding to me but young professional is a term I hear used frequently so, who knows? In any case, just judging people on their word usage while dismissing their intent makes no sense whatsoever. </p>
<p>Well, I would suggest it is a weighted word if your perception and experience is that all ladies are women, but not all women are ladies, that “ladies” is a polite way to refer to women, but some women may not deserve the designation. That is definitely the culture in which I grew up. I have to think what it means in NYC. It seems to me it is still not a neutral way to refer to a female.</p>
<p>So, it’s a compliment?</p>
<p>Flossy: I think college women are reclaiming the word. And I think it is possible to discuss how labels can be negative, just generally, without necessarily being offended by those labels. I don’t see how it is a problem to recognize some labels are negative, with or without intent. It’s a useful exercise for me, if not for anyone else. I am not trying to create conflict, just trying to sort out what it all means.</p>
<p>Flossy: it’s a compliment if you think what “lady” meant in my childhood is a compliment ; ) There is a lot of debate around that idea among some of my friends.</p>
<p>I might take anything with “young” attached to it these days. Let’s see, going back to previous example, young dog breath… Maybe not…</p>
<p>Young dog breath. Kinda catchy…</p>
<p>Grasshopper.</p>
<p>Fwiw, this college woman is not reclaiming “lady”.
I don’t like the word. It rubs me the wrong way for some reason. </p>
<p>And everytime I read this thread I think of Jerry Lewis yelling “Hey laaaaaaady” in… was it Funny Bones?</p>
<p>I try not to think about Jerry Lewis. Ever.</p>