'To a degree, a "gentleman" signified a man with an income derived from property, a legacy or some other source, and was thus independently wealthy and did not need to work. The term was particularly used of those who could not claim nobility or even the rank of esquire. Widening further, it became a politeness for all... men, as in the phrase "Ladies and Gentlemen,..." and this was then used (often with the abbreviation Gents) to indicate where men could find a lavatory, without the need to indicate precisely what was being described.'In modern speech, the term is usually democratised so as to include any man of good, courteous conduct, or even to all men (as in indications of gender-separated facilities, or as a sign of the speaker's own courtesy when addressing others).
Is this notion of a gentleman obsolete or do people still believe these values count today? An old guide that has all this information written down is Deberetts who are a Debrett's modern authority on all matters etiquette, taste and achievement. However I feel that even though this guide is always changing and updating, is it really what people think?
I want to stay clear of a guide on how to be a gentleman, because i think it is differs from person to person, I also want people to come to their own conclusions about what the modern man is...