The Case for First Lady, Uppercased

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I sat at my desk this midsummer evening and off in the distance the low rumbling of thunder registered as another storm rolled in off the central east coast of Florida. Barely into the writing process and I reached first for my printed version of The Associated Press Stylebook, a 2016 version, as I so often do. It’s always been at arm's reach since my first printed version of the stylebook around 1993. Even though I have the digital version open on a computer tab, out of curiosity I flipped to the physical copyright page and noticed when the first (modern) edition was published — August 1977. 

It had only been a few months earlier when Rosalynn Carter stood watching her husband, Jimmy Carter, be sworn in as the 39th president of the United States at his inauguration on Jan. 20 of that same year. Huh, kind of a coincidence, I thought.

What was not a coincidence was the manner in which Rosalynn Carter assumed her position as first lady. She served as first lady of Georgia, where Jimmy Carter was elected governor, and knew entering the White House that there was work to be done. 

For weeks, I had combed through Rosalynn Carter’s history in and out of the White House in preparation for the central feature in this issue. And that’s when I checked, again, the official style of “first lady”. The AP Stylebook is a style and usage guide created by American journalists. 

The entry is clear: first lady, first gentleman: “An informal reference for the spouse of the president; not an official title. Always lowercase.” 

In my 2016 stylebook, the entry was similar: “Not a formal title. Do not capitalize, even when used before the name of a chief of state’s wife,” it said. That was before the AP included the one-day-likelihood of a first gentleman (updated in 2017 after Hillary Rodham Clinton, former secretary of state and first lady, campaigned unsuccessfully for president against Donald J. Trump).

I never questioned this guidance — until now.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of East Wing Magazine, the first journalistic publication covering the lives, the legacies and the impact of first ladies present and past. We believe the first lady is a powerful figure in her own right who deserves fair coverage that goes beyond typical news narratives. 

As I set out to examine Rosalynn Carter’s influence from this perspective, it was apparent there was nothing informal about the way she served as first lady. In fact, Rosalynn Carter’s plans for the East Wing were well reported in legacy newspapers with plans to have an office in the White House, the first, first lady to do so. And then there were plans to staff that office initially with 18 employees, according to reports. Carter, herself, would personally direct her staff. Remarkable.

Back to my stylebook for a moment where it directs writers to “titles” to further explain.

It says to “confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual name,” just not first lady. And then it elaborates about “formal titles:” “A formal title is one that denotes a scope of authority, professional activity or academic activity.” 

You know where I’m going with this.

In 1978, Congress passed the White House Personnel Authorization Act (Public Law 95-750), which gives the president the authority to give the president’s spouse “the assistance and services” needed in connection with assisting the “President in the discharge of the President's duties and responsibilities.” The act paved the way for the budget of the East Wing to be fully integrated into the White House budget. 

Researchers are also aware of how the first lady role has evolved into a specialization with causes and initiatives that complement their spouses’ political agenda — a position, in my opinion, demonstrating the AP’s noted level of professionalism.

“Historically, first ladies have had more contact with presidents than any other member of the administration.” — White House Transition Project report 1997-2021

“Historically, first ladies have had more contact with presidents than any other member of the administration. As trusted presidential advisers, these women have lobbied on behalf of specific projects, groups, and policies; participated in staffing decisions, controlled access to the president; and shaped the policy agenda,” researchers stated in this report discussing first ladies and the transition of democratic power between administrations. 

Specifically, it said, the East Wing has averaged 16 to 25 staff members since 1992. Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! and Joining Forces initiatives, for example, had staff and detailees while Rosalynn Carter relied on a director of policy and projects to advance her policy initiatives, the report noted.

And to top it off, perhaps one of the most compelling aspects for a successful administration was summed up like this:

“Strategic political outreach to presidential constituents, with attendant electoral and governing consequences, is the predominating responsibility of the modern first lady,” the report said.

Here at East Wing Magazine, it doesn’t take much convincing to see how every first lady has contributed to the specialization of this position. It doesn’t take much convincing to see the influence they wield from their platform. And as history continues to unfold, I’ll continue to investigate, quantifiably, how first ladies' legacies impact society. As a longtime journalist, I am joined by another intrepid journalist — Editor-at-Large, Erin Donaghue, who will assist in the production of the publication. Together, we’d like to invite you to read and learn along with us about these iconic women and the lives they touch.

We’d especially like to tip our hats to the painstaking work and dedication of historians, scholars, researchers, authors and archivists who have undertaken the important work of dissecting the first ladies’ influence in all aspects of life. They are making headway and there is more work to be done.

But for now, I closed the AP Stylebook and placed it back in its familiar corner of my desk. Every publication has the freedom to adapt their own style. And so we shall. 

Like one scholar said of Rosalynn Carter’s White House office, “it seems long overdue.” A formal title for America’s first lady also seems overdue. In our writerly way, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and all of her predecessors on down to First Lady Martha Washington will be recognized with the uppercased formal title. And, one day, the men who hold this position will, too.  

Welcome to East Wing Magazine.

Let’s get started.