Haven’t we moved beyond the use of “lady” in front of mascots? – Michael Adams, Lake Travis View

When I took over as sports editor for the Westlake Picayune and Lake Travis View, I decided that in our print and online editions, my policy would be to never refer to the girls teams as “Lady Chaps” or “Lady Cavs.”

‘Lady’ team nicknames can be harmful, experts say

“I think we have to get away from these labels that inadvertently marginalize different people who participate in sports because of their sexuality or gender,” Armstrong said. “I think it has created this binary: the norm and what’s out of the norm, the good and what’s not so good, this is the real sport and this is the other sport.”

MASCOTS ARE MASCOTS, NO ‘LADY’ ABOUT IT

“Lady” has always felt like an antiquated qualifier in sports. I see the argument that it differentiates the girls and boys side of a sport, but it gives the boys the rights to the actual school name and gives the girls’ teams a feeling of being somehow lesser. They are the “ladies.” But boys do not have to be “gentlemen.” Or any other type of descriptor, for that matter.

Schools Move To Drop ‘Lady’ From Women’s Team Names, Drawing Mixed Reactions

“The men’s teams are somehow solely entitled to the general term Hens, without a gender specific qualifier,”

“referring to our women’s sports teams as the Lady Hens while we refer to our men’s teams as the Hens suggests that men’s teams lay claim to true Henship and to the true embodiment of athleticism.”