Difference between a Woman and a Lady

When today’s society views a woman, images of independence are sparked, however; to attain such a label as a lady, she must refine her natural human instincts when it comes to her behavior. Every human being who is not a male is labeled generically as a woman; however, takes more than just existence to become a lady.

In the maternity ward of the hospital, girls and boys are being born day by day. The doctors are able to tell the parents that their child is a girl, that she will grow up to become a woman; however, a doctor will never be able to accurately predict that she will one day become a lady. In science and history textbooks, one will never find the word “lady” or “gentleman” while the word “woman” and “female” are interchangeably used. One term all females are given, simply being born into it, while the other is an acquired term a female must manage a reputation to earn.

When one speaks of an independent or a strong woman, one generic poster is pictured. J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It!” with an image of a woman, flexing her bicep is a famous piece of propaganda created during World War II. She flexes her muscles in a way only men during that time period were socially allowed to do. When this photo is spoken of, the women in the picture is never referred to as a lady. She is referred to as a strong woman, instead. Beyonce Knowles, a famous singer addresses this topic. In her song, Grown Woman, she speaks of herself as an independent person, how she can do what she wants, how she “runs this” referring to her life. In another song sung by her, she labels single females Single Ladies, not “Single Women”. When a female wants to be considered a bachelorette, she is considered a lady instead of a woman because a woman is on her own and is independent of a man.

The stereotypical lady, as society has made clear to us, is perceived as a female who has extraordinary grace and poise. The word “lady” is actually becoming outdated, and the use of it is becoming rarer and rarer as the days go by. In today’s society, the word lady is also becoming outdated because of the rise of feminism. Many females do not want to be considered dependant figures anymore, pushing out the use of this term. Manners and etiquette are also not pushed upon kids the way they used to be a generation ago. Frank Sinatra sings in his famous song The Lady is a Tramp about a woman who breaks the typical customs of being a “lady”. It is important to note that the entire song lists examples of characteristics that the typical “lady” does not do. In Billy Joel’s song She’s Always a Woman he sings about somebody who takes care of herself, who doesn’t need him to be complete. He sings about a woman who does what she pleases and carelessly lies. These characteristics he speaks of are opposite of those typically seen in a lady, which is exactly why he did not label the song “She’s Always a Lady”.

Today, the term lady is not only used to differentiate between one with manners and another without, but is also used by men as slang when they wish to point out their ownership of the girl, almost in dominance. When a man’s wife makes him a sandwich, or brings him a beer “that’s my lady,” he would say, inexplicitly boasting to others of his supremacy. When the same man is out late with his friends and she angrily calls, her now the one in control, he may say to his friends “The wife wants me home” before leaving. This example clearly displays the dominance difference between what a lady is in comparison to other terms every female is given.

Sometimes today, the two terms are used even if not for the differential reasons pointed out mentioned before. In today’s culture, it is polite to call a female a lady rather than a woman, because the term simply complements her polite behavior. When one is not necessarily pleased with a female, they may insult her with the word woman rather than lady, for example “you crazy woman!” or “give me a break, woman!” or if men are just through with the opposite sex they have this tendency to say “women!” with such a disgusted tone. Never will one say “ladies!” with that same tone of disgust, because lady is a positive term in comparison to woman.

Ladies in history tended to be of a higher status than woman. During the Middle Ages in England, a Lady was the equivalent of a knight or a Lord. Unlike men during this time period, females were never given a spectrum of names based on social status or wealth. The term Lady was the only differentiating term between a female of noble status and one of low status. The term First Lady is also a noble term in American society today, as it really does not get much higher than being the president’s wife.

The differences between the words lady and woman are immensely large in connotative definition though they seem so similar in literal definition. Ladies are weak, more conservative forms of females while woman are strong, liberal forms of females instead. We are all women, but not all of us are ladies. Differentiating a lady from a woman is simply in the eye of the beholder.