'Ladies' and man-made language

Don't mean to derail a good thread, but are all women ladies, or just some? Are all men gentlemen or just some? Which ones? Who decides? I suggest taking a look at some Feminist literature- maybe 'Man Made Language' by Dale Spender as a start.

Or even take a look at Wikipaedia

Quote:

...some women, since the rise of second wave feminism, have objected to the term used in contexts such as the last example, arguing that the term sounds patronising and outdated when used in this way - a man in the same context would not necessarily be referred to as a "gentleman". One feminist writer, Robin Lakoff, in her book "Language and Woman's Place" (1975), notably raised the issue of the ways in which "lady" is not used as the counterpart of "gentleman". A sign in the gardens of Hunters Hotel reads "Ladies and Gentlemen will not pick the flowers; others must not."

Food for thought.