Is "southern bell" used nowadays to talk about a woman from the southern states?
NOT A TEACHER
(1) I checked my dictionary:
belle comes from French, which took it from Latin, meaning
"beautiful."
(2) Originally, "southern belle" referred to the young upper-class
ladies of the South before our Civil War.
(3) I do not think that it is used nowadays by most Americans.
I most respectfully suggest that you
not use it, for that term
may have racial overtones that can be very offensive to some
people.