Being a "lady"

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One sorority at my campus has these t-shirts that say "A [sorority name-- can't remember it] is cool, classy, and always a lady!" It makes me gag a little whenever I see them, but I wonder what others think in the context of love and dating.

So, what does "lady" mean to you? (Or "cool" and "classy" for that matter.) Women-- would you like to be described that way? People who are attracted to women-- if someone you liked described herself as a "lady," would you find that attractive?

It would strike me as a kind of "I'm proud to be a woman!" in a feminist sort of way. It's fine if it means you're happy with who you are, but the message to me would come off more as "I'm a woman who is proud of it and therefore is superior to everyone else." That's just kind of a red flag to me, from an attractiveness standpoint. I want someone who is confident and comfortable with themselves, but who doesn't need to scream it to the rooftops. Quiet confidence is far more attractive to me.

Cookies and nail polish. Is that close? I see "ladies" with lots of makeup and fancy clothing and that's what I perceive as an actual lady. Not that I'd spend the time doing makeup, but that's just how most of these so-called ladies appear.

The word reminds me a bit of my grandmother. She is a feminist, apparently, but my grandfather paid for everything during a marriage that lasted from the early 1950s until his death.

No. and most of the time when a woman I know says she is a "lady" she is being sarcastic and making fun of the traditional female stereotype.

My definition of a lady is someone who acts like one. One that has good manners, knows how to sit properly, and dresses in only knee length skirts and dresses.

A woman, however, is someone who has her own power, a grown up female, not feminist, but not someone who relies on her man to do everything. She'll do stuff on her own and be quite an independent personality, while still involving her man, if you know what I mean.

I'm just basing this on opposite sex relationships to give examples.

I like being referred to as a lady, I don't have to deal with a lot of vulgarity other women deal with.

I'd rather be a gentleman.

When I think of a "lady" I think of some really old-fashioned Victorian-Age woman in hoop skirts carrying a frilly parasol who is always very prim and proper. Never swears or uses slang, is church-going, is married or seeing one man and, of course, is saving it for marriage. I guess nearly all of us aren't ladies anymore if that's what is is.
But then again, a "gentleman" in my opinion is a gentle man, who is kind and caring and RESPECTFUL towards women, so there aren't many of those left in the world either.

I use this term in an odd way, that has nothing to do with behaviour, class, status, or any of those things. What I use it for is to describe something that has an overtly feminine style that is not trying to be sexy but rather it is either cute or amusing - and usually as an adjective, not a noun.

Example, this here is a lady boot:

http://www.blogcdn.com/shopping.aol.co. ... 738688.jpg

This is a lady car:

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/im ... f1c3c6.jpg

It's actually kind of difficult to describe exactly what it is I'm trying to express when I use this term. For instance, high heels are women's footwear, but I would never describe a boot with high heels as a lady boot.

I'm puzzled myself about the rules with which I use the term, it's just a certain impression that determines whether something qualifies or not. I think it has to do with what is being expressed, something feminine but lacking any expression of sexuality ... perhaps an adult, feminine thing that embraces a whimsical or childlike quality.