to be incredibly irritated by the term 'lady' partuculalry when used by one woman about another.

[moondog]

So faux genteel.
It's woman.
Ok?

"Lots of people who don't like "lady" all that much really seem to be saying that they use it in contexts with their kids where strangers might find alternatives offensive." - yes, think that's what I do, and I do kind of kick myself for doing it at the same time. Hmm.

Not as demeaning as girl - as in "why would I want to watch girls football" which I heard in the coffee room the other day.

Its the England WOMENS team thank you very much.

You dont ever hear David Beckham et al being referred to as the boys team do you?

Grrrrrrr. Now where is that "i'm not a feminist" thread....

I don't like grown women being called girls at all (unless the men are also being called boys), BUT I love lady!

I am a big OE fan and I always think of the etymology. Lady (hlafdige) comes from "loaf-kneader" and its male equivalent is lord (hlaford) which comes from "loaf-guardian". Now you could argue that's sexist, but not as sexist as "woman" in which "man" is the basic form and "woman" is "womb-man" - in other words a marked form of man which is like saying "female doctor".

I like the fact that it's all to do with loaves and that as the lady I get to make the loaf, while the man guards the loaf. Makes me feel more important. And I like the way "lady" has connotations of style, grace and beauty while "woman" sounds harsh and often negative to me.

A am a lady of course, as you can see.

Ha ha UQD my son often asks to watch "boy telly", by which he means discovery channel stuff about volcanoes and crocodiles. But he just means not adult telly like the news. (We don't have a girl so he's not making that distinction)

Oh, lovely, LOTB. I thought hlaford was loaf-giver, though?

I absolutely agree with that UQD. I'm a complete gadget freak and I love cars and driving and I can't bear that the general consenus is that they are male orientated items. I might be a bird but I can programme the video/dvd/sky+, I don't drive at 21.5 mph in an L reg Nissan Micra (no offence!), I can take a computer apart and I do all the flat pack assembling in our house.

But I see you're right!

With you moondog.
I may not be a lady, but I'm all woman.

It is a polite way to refer to an unknown third party who is grown-up and female when children are involved.

'Mind that lady,' I tell the children if they're not paying attention as they walk. It just sounds as though you're making an effort to acknowledge a strange woman as another human being who deserves respect. 'Mind that woman' would sound a bit blunt.

I don't like being referred to as a lady by people who know me, IYSWIM. Not that they would.

I say mind that lady / gentleman and often get a nice smile in return

I'm clearly not a girl (regretfully) any longer, and detest the impersonalised 'love' which always reminds me of care assistants I have known who have probably (disclaimer: I was a CA too, i'm thinking of a specific breed), who never take the time to elarn a name or look at a face, yet always refer them as that,seeminlgly unaware the term means 'to like another adult very much and be romantically and sexually attracted to them, or to have strong feelings of liking a friend or person in your family'

]

I actually like being called those names by NHS staff and shop staff etc - I always think it's lovely. "Love" is no problem for me but I really like it when I go somewhere regional and you get called things like "Lover" or "Ducks". Here in Scotland it's "Hen". I love it!

I would always use the term lady when describing a woman to a child.

I don't think anyone on this thread has explained what the sexist connotations of it are. People don't say gentleman anymore; I suspect the equivalent of lady is now 'chap', which is used as infrequently and in the same type of situation as 'lady'.

I do think referring to anyone over the age of 16 as a girl is offensive.

Ah you see lover is fairly l;ocal to my childhood,maybe thats part of my reason LOL

I bought the title 'lady'. Straight up honesty!!
I expect everyone to refer to me as lady forthwith

I always use lady and gentleman when explaining/dealing with a child - it's polite and utterly appropriate in that context.......now my friends might well be Laydeeeez!

YABU, I wouldn't refer to someone as 'that woman' unless she'd irritated me greatly! 'That lady' is much less affronting and just much more polite.

I think women in particular have quite a lot of trouble calling someone a 'woman' without it sounding a bit sneery.

"That woman" sounds like what people on here might call Liz Jones. Or Maggie Thatcher.

And Thatcher referred to herself as a lady (in the third person, no less).

ugh.

Can't say it's something I give a shit about one way or the other. I prefer woman to lady, but I don't care.

Oh. Unless someone called me "little lady" in that patronising tone. But then that goes equally for "the little woman"

So, no, I'm back to not caring.

I've noticed in the last 20 years there has been a subtle shift in toilet door notices from "Ladies" and "Gents" towards "Men" and "Women". I didn't get the memo about that one.

I just want to know what the score is with the spotting bananas.

But faux genteel was exactly what I was aiming for !

I don't think I have ever referred to someone as a "woman" so it seems odd that so many people seem to prefer it.

I object to 'woman' sounding sneery. Man doesn't, a woman is a low status position so we have to be called 'lady'???

Reclaim the word - nowt wrong with being a woman

The President's wife is now called the First Woman. Would you Adam and Eve it?