Who is a Gentleman in XX century?

By 1900, under the influence of the political, economic, and social changes of the Victorian era, the word had acquired a variety of usages and meanings which fully reflected the complexity of English society.

On the one hand, gentlemen could be a mere synonym of men—used at public places and occasions to distinguish male persons from females, and, on the other hand, acceptance by “society” as a gentleman still required an income derived from sources other than manual labour and retail trade.

In England this view, though much weakened by the social upheavals produced by two World Wars, to some extent prevailed—preserved, cherished, and typified in the rigid distinction on the cricket field between “gentlemen” and “players.”