looking around me, the state of the world regarding chivalry is appalling. chivalry seems to be slowly seeping away, leaving behind coarseness and “equality.”
now, just getting this up front, i strongly believe in equality between men and women in society and relationships and communication. i believe that both men and women are equally capable and that there isn’t a superior sex.
but then there’s this whole concept of chivalry that seems to go against the idea of equality. or does it?
CHIVALRY. Definition: 1. the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, esp. courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak; 2. courteous behavior, esp. that of a man toward women
can a girl open her own door? heck yes, she can! but when a gentleman opens her door for her, it shows that he values her enough to go out of his way to make her life even just a teeny bit easier.
but then again, there are definitely other ways to show someone you value them than by just opening doors and being courteous, i suppose…
so this is all personal opinion, and i’m kind of just thinking out loud, but to me, demonstrating chivalry shows that you live by a greater moral code, one that respects women and holds them in high esteem. and when a man is chivalrous, he’s doing quite the opposite of putting down women and treating them as lesser people who are unable to do things for themselves. in reality, he’s like treating them as royalty, special and important. think about it! honorable knights slay dragons and sail across oceans and fight for their queen, not because she can’t handle it, but to show respect for her and to outwardly display how important she is in their eyes.
in a world where women’s rights has always been an issue, where women have continually fought to be equal, and feel validated, chivalrous actions build women up and say to them, “you are important, you are wonderful, you are special, and you are worth it.”
in this world, chivalry is exactly what we need.
i say that chivalry is far from old-fashioned. i say that chivalry is necessary and valuable, and any boy that ever wants to try to marry me better chivalrous all the way to the moon and back. chivalry is not dead yet, and you better believe i’m going to fight tooth and nail to keep it alive.
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where do you stand on the concept of chivalry? is it important? or is it holding us back? i’m curious what the general opinion is on this!
stay tuned for part 2 of “in defense of chivalry” on thursday!
T E S S 
Thanks for your comment on my post, and I completely agree! When men are chivalrous with good intent, as a pure act of kindness toward women, we shouldn’t downplay that and tell them to stop. Instead, in the name of equality and morality, we should be chivalrous to them as well. Sure, the term was intended for men, but it’s 2014, we change the meaning of words all the time and we can do it again.
Chivalry is not only about opening car doors but also about doing the dishes, cleaning up the vomit and such other mundane chores of life which otherwise get dumped onto the hapless delicately nurtured ones!
Here is a post you might enjoy:
http://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/women-in-trousers-men-in-skirts/
Thank you for your thoughts! I really appreciate them, and I enjoyed your post as well! It sounds very well-thought-out and made me think about the whole subject of gender equality and chivalry and all of that. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment!
And thank you for reading mine!