Should female golfers be called “ladies” or "women"? The great debate is back, but this time we’re asking: Does it even matter?
Our Levelling the Fairways series has stirred up some really important conversations around women’s golf. It’s one of the reasons we started the series in the first place and is something we’re really proud of.
But one question that keeps re-appearing in my inbox is whether it’s time to ditch the term “ladies” and start referring to female golfers as “women”.
As a writer, I’m a firm advocate for the fact that words are our most powerful tool – they can literally build people up or destroy them.
But when it comes to women’s golf, how much does it really matter?
For me, I’d far rather we just align with the rest of the sporting world and call us all women. The end. But given how much attention this topic has had, I thought it was a good time to reshare a brilliant article our Emma wrote earlier in the year.
Here’s just an excerpt, but have a read of the full thing and let me know what you think!
Ladies vs Women – does it really matter?
The discussion around the use of the word women over ladies is nothing new. It’s been rumbling throughout the sports world from football to rugby, cricket to hockey for a long time.
This topic is so personal. So here are my headline thoughts:
- Changing ladies to women is not going to have a significant impact on participation or membership in golf
- Neither women nor ladies represent girls in the sportThe main problem stems from the fact that most default term refers to men, so we have to use a prefix of women or ladies. Captain and Ladies' Captain, PGA Tour and LPGA Tour etc
- However, with the language around gender being so important in this day and age, where possible a move to women would be encouraged.
(Before I go any further, it is obviously worth noting that Women & Golf were ahead of their time calling a publication this name in the 1990s 🙂)
Will a name change empower girls?
In 2021, W&G hosted a Junior Captain’s blog from Enfield Golf Club, Issie Brunskill was 17 and one of her main ambitions for her year was to get Ladies changed to Women. She achieved this in less than a year as she felt the use of ladies just wasn’t right anymore.
After the change, she told Women & Golf:
“I definitely think it’s a generation thing as I know there are women at the club that didn’t see the need to change the name but I feel the more we are exposed to it, the more accepting we become. I just don’t feel very empowered by the word ladies and I don’t think it represents golf in the right way. I feel so lucky to be part of a forward-thinking and inclusive golf club.”
In this case, although younger women will have appreciated the change, did it change the ethos of the club? Would a woman now be more inclined to join the club because of it? Do girls really feel empowered by the name change? I’ll leave you to ponder on these thoughts.
We are often influenced by those around us and as a mother of two daughters, both generation Alpha, I value their views on the world.
It’s not the first time I’ve asked them about the use of ladies and women but I thought I would ask again.
My 13-year-old declared that she saw no issue with the term ladies, it’s used for toilets and changing rooms and although a young woman she views herself as a girl so neither term feels relevant to her.
Would it put her off competing in any sport? She told me not to be ridiculous and that it had no bearing on her enjoyment of the sport.
