Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Chivalry

A topic that comes up often in MRA discussion is chivalry, when it comes up, I always think of something I dealt with when I was younger. Whenever I walked into a building, if a woman was behind me, (actually, if anyone was behind me) I would hold the door open for her, as I was taught to do. Some women actually thanked me, but most gave a sort of grunt and hurriedly moved on; one even rolled her eyes when I held the door. I decided that maybe women appreciated that behavior in men that were more attractive than I was, or at least men who were older. I decided to accept my situation and stopped holding doors in most cases. I let women get their own doors and simply decided I wasn't going to bother anyone.

What I noticed next puzzled me for quite a while. After I stopped holding doors, women acted as if I were rude. It seemed I was damned if I did, and damned if I didn't. Then it occured to me: women perhaps wanted everyone to hold open doors, but only wanted to acknowledge a certain few of the men who did so. From what I observe, women do not appreciate any thing that might be regarded as chivalry from men they do not consider attractive; instead they expect those men to perform chivalry as duty. It is only appreciated as a self-initiated act when the man has enough attractiveness or social status.

To be honest, I am all for holding a door for anyone behind me, but I really am not interested in reinforcing my "low-status" to some woman whose position over me is largely in her head.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Men's Rights

This blog will focus largely on men's rights, but will cover many other topics as well.