"Lady" is not equal to "Woman"

[MineralMan]

18. Well, If "she's the kind you'd like to flaunt and take to dinner,"

then she's a lady? This discussion is really not worth having, I think.

There is a difference between the words woman and lady or women and ladies. However, it's not bad to refer to a woman as a lady, or is it bad to refer to a lady as a woman.

"Lady" is a respectful way to refer to a particular woman you know. "Ladies" is a respectful way to refer to women in an audience when you are addressing that audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen" is a standard opening that is widely used as a means of showing respect to your audience. .

However, when referring to adult female humans as a group, the word "women" is perfectly acceptable. If referring to an individual adult human being in the third person, using the word "woman" is also just fine. It is simply a descriptive noun that carries no particular judgment about the person or group.

Both words are perfectly fine to use, and which one you choose is up to you. In normal usage, however, the two sentences above is a good guideline that will offend nobody.

As for "girls" and "women," my distinction between the two is reaching the age of 18 or having graduated from high school. High school girls and college women, for example.

I'm a professional writer and have been for decades, writing primarily for magazines. Those are the rules I have always followed, and have never received any criticism nor have any of my articles been edited to change that usage.