Studio 360

I think this is the segment where the hosts discussed when a young lady stops thinking of herself as a "girl" and starts thinking of herself as a "woman." I've had this discussion with numerous friends (in our twenties and now in our thirties), my younger sister, and my sixty-something mother. We all agree that guys have all the luck. Males have "guy," a word between the childish "boy" and the adult "man," but females have nothing to bridge the gap.

My friends and I agree that "woman" sounds so old and serious that we can't imagine calling ourselves that. But "girl" can sound so frivolous. My mother confesses that she doesn't really think of herself as a woman, not deep inside. I guess it's her inner girlishness that has kept her young. Even though I know the label can be annoying to feminists, and indeed I would bristle if certain people referred to me as "girl," I can't help holding on to it.

Maybe it seems full of possibility, less settled, more adventurous, than the grown-up, austere "woman." I suppose, ideally, I would be a combination of the two - the accomplishments and confidence of a woman with the whimsy and sparkle of a girl. Maybe there's never a transition; maybe it's always a balancing act.