[Lexicog] First Lady

[John Clifton]

In the short-lived ABC TV series 'Commander in Chief,' Geena Davis plays 
the role of a US Vice President who becomes President through the death 
of the President - thus becoming the first female president of the US. 
In the series, her husband's title is 'First Gentleman.' Among other 
topics, the show dealt with what the responsibilities of the 'First 
Gentleman' would be. The Wikipedia entry on 'Commander in Chief' notes 
the use of the term 'First Gentleman.'

There is also a Wikipedia entry on 'First Lady of the United States.' It 
is noted there that women other than wives of presidents have served as 
First Lady, due to the president being a widower or bachelor, or the 
wife being unable or unwilling to fulfill the functions of the First 
Lady. A list of non-wives who have fulfilled this role is included in 
the entry.

It is also noted that a number of women have been elected as state 
governors - their husbands have been referred to as the 'First Man,' or 
'First Gentleman.'

Yet another entry, 'First Gentleman,' focuses on the husband of the 
current Governor of Michigan. In that entry, it is claimed that the 
titles have 'ranged from First Husband to First Dude,' although no 
example of First Dude is given.

John Clifton

CAROLINE REUL wrote:
> Fritz, I think the term is "Madame President," also Madame Chancellor 
> as far as I know.  I have never seen Angela Merkel's husband referred 
> to as anything but his proper name or "ihr Mann", though I don't read 
> the German newspapers very often.
>  
> In reply to John, I don't believe the origins of one term need to 
> dictate the nature or the coinage of the gender opposite term, 
> especially if centuries lie between the genesis of the two. "First 
> Master" or "First Lord" will never become the new term in America, as 
> titles smacking of nobility are out of place here. Actually in the US 
> we would use the term "Gentleman of the house", hence "First 
> Gentleman" would fit the office. First Lad and First Dude are surely 
> humorous contributions to the topic. First Husband seems to be a 
> possibility, however no one would ever call the First Lady "First 
> Wife" which seems to reduce the person in question to nothing more 
> than another object belonging to the office holder, analogous to 
> "First Dog," "First Cat" or "First Pet", all of which were used 
> humerously in the media to refer to Bill Clinton's pets.
>  
> What is interesting, though not relevant to lexicography, is what the 
> office of "First Gengleman" will entail.
>  
> Caroline Reul



 
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