Count 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski among those ready for change.
"The term 'Ladies' has been long-standing in figure skating, and while I generally respect tradition in the sport, I do think the terminology has become antiquated and uneven, considering we refer to male skaters as 'men,'" wrote Lipinski, who's enjoying a second career as an NBC analyst, in an email exchange Monday. "I would support a change from 'ladies' to 'women.'"
Scott Hamilton, the 1984 gold medalist who is in South Korea as a commentator for NBC Sports Network's "Olympic Ice" program, indicated his support for a change, as well, in a social-media exchange with a viewer who took issue with his co-analyst Tanith Belbin White's continued on-air reference to "ladies" figure skating.
Tweeted Hamilton in reply: "I totally understand your point, but skating is a very old and traditional sport in many respects. When referring to the women's competition, everywhere that it's mentioned refers to it as Ladies. I know. I know. But @TanithWhite is correct. #letschangeit"
Nagasu, for one, has no preference.
"I definitely don't have a view on that," Nagasu said in an interview earlier this week. "I don't mind either way. I'm a strong, proud woman and also a lady, I guess. I'm for feminism."
Figure skating isn't alone in using the "ladies" distinction. Of the 14 winter sports contested by women at the PyeongChang Olympics, eight are called "ladies'" sports (including Alpine skiing, ski jumping, speedskating and snowboard) and six are "women's" sports (including bobsled, curling and ice hockey).
The discrepancy exists because the international governing body of each sport chooses the names for its events. The International Olympic Committee, in turn, adopts the titles used by the federation. That's why, at present, there's no uniformity nor apparent logic.
Canadian figure skating officials ushered in their own nomenclature change roughly a decade ago, opting to use the neutral designations of "men's and women's" - rather than "men's and ladies'" - in its national championships.
Canada's public broadcast system, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, has followed suit after discussing the question for multiple Olympic Games, according to Greg Stremlaw, executive director, CBC Sports and general manager, Olympics. The CBC now encourages its on-air commentators to use the term "women's" rather than "ladies.'" Explained Stremlaw, via a CBC spokesman: "We have increased efforts around this topic over the last few years as it is important to the network as a global leader in sports broadcasting to also be leaders in terms of equity in how women's and men's sports are presented and reported on."
The Post's convention is to use "women's" instead of "ladies."
NBC, however, is squarely in the "ladies" camp when it comes to figure skating, following the lead of U.S. Figure Skating, which adheres to ISU style on the question.
The U.S. Olympic Committee hasn't take a formal position but would support a change in terminology, according to an official, in the interest of equity. The IOC may seize the initiative first, as an upshot of its ongoing Gender Equity Review Project.
If the French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin had his way more than a century ago, women wouldn't participate at all. The founder of the modern Olympics in 1896, de Coubertin once stated that the Olympics were created for "the solemn and periodic exaltation of male athleticism," with "female applause as reward." He further opined that women were biologically ill-suited to sports - "not cut out to sustain certain shocks."
With this as a starting point for modern-day female Olympians, why does it matter what they're called on the field of play?
Doctoral dissertations have been written about the politics of the term "lady." In the context of sports, the debate isn't whether "lady" is an insult or an honorific. It's a question of equivalence.
"Men and women" are neutral terms. "Ladies (and gentlemen)" are more specific, implying a standard of manners and comportment.
Wimbledon recognizes a Gentlemen's and Ladies' champion of its grass-court tennis tournament. No one has an issue; they are equivalent titles. The U.S. Open, by contrast, honors a Men's and Women's champion - also equivalent. But a sport with a Ladies and Men's champion is an inequitable mash-up.
Sports with multiple governing bodies present even more confusion. Every summer, the best women golfers in the world play the U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open, conducted by the U.S. Golf Association and the R&A, respectively, and then return to the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. The week before the Women's British Open, about 200 miles north, the Ladies Scottish Open will be held.
U.S. figure skating coach Tom Zakrajsek, who counts Nagasu among his pupils, finds the issue interesting.
"Having been around the sport for many years, I think if you go back to the history and origin of the sport in Europe, it was probably a proper term: 'Ladies' skating,'" Zakrajsek said. "I think everybody just keeps saying it - maybe not for a good reason, but we've all accepted it. I think that it's embedded in our jargon."
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