Sunday, June 6, 2010
C is for Chivalry (or is it Chauvinism?)
Well there is talk that chivalry is dead but does it have to go so far the other way?
I was appalled, no stunned, by what happened to me on the boardwalk the other day. I was chatting with two female friends at the very edge of where the boardwalk meets the sand. From behind I was literally body-checked! I was body-checked with enough force that it caused me to stumble. At first I thought it was one of my bratty male friends. It took several minutes for it to register that it was a man and his wife who had apparently taken offence that I was “in their way” on the boardwalk. Now, that is ludicrous since I was on the very edge of the boardwalk, the smallest of the 3 women standing there and with my back to him. A very cowardly move I would say. What is almost more shocking is that this behaviour was condoned by his wife.
Our friend decided to confront him as she came upon him sitting on a bench with his wife further down the boardwalk. She asked“Why did you push my friend? Did you see the size of her” His response was “Well, she was in my way!” What would cause a man to behave this way? Are social graces so lax these days because the lines are so blurred? Chivarly, which was such a noble trait, has now been misconstrued as chauvinism. A man must be so confused as to how to act. Does he open the door for a woman? Does he offer her a seat on the bus? Is he to pay the cheque on a dinner date?
I know women are now much more empowered both in the workforce and at home but does that mean a man can’t show any sense of chivalry? With the feminist movement is the act of a man opening the door chauvinistic or is it just plain chivalrous? Where do we draw the line? How is a man supposed to know how to act and what women want?
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/valentines-day/dont-sweat-it-guys-chivalry-aint-chauvinism/article1456865/
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