What is a gentleman? Are gentlemen endangered species? These are some questions the Network of Enlightened Women (NeW) at Arizona State University started to ask. And instead of talking about their body parts during the month of February like feminists performing The Vagina Monologues, these ladies started a dialogue about how to define a gentleman and created a showcase event to acknowledge the gentlemen on their campus.
What did you think of their answers? Did you catch how most of the men thought that there were definitely gentlemen still around, often including themselves in the count! This reveals an interesting perspective described in Guys Speak Out On Chivalry:
It seems that men are lodged between a rock and a hard place. If they try to be chivalrous, feminists call them sexist. Yet if they treat us the way the feminists say we want to be treated—the same as a man—we complain of not getting enough respect.
How do guys define chivalry? Three out of four responded that it had to do with respect, honor, and courtesy towards women. One man spoke openly: “Chivalry is the notion that a man has the duty to respect and serve women.”
Another man affirmed: “It is a set of manners and respect a man should show to a woman as a demonstration of respect towards her.” Another guy said women “need to understand that chivalry isn’t being put down like feminism would like you to believe, but rather is a way a woman can command respect from a man.”
Too often, however, these same men lamented that their efforts to be chivalrous were met with scorn.
The article ends with a challenge to WOMEN to stand up and reclaim chivalrous gentlemanly behavior. If a guy holds the door open for you, don't see it as an insult, but thank him!
"Expect men to rise to the occasion."
