2/19/14

Does Chivalry need a eulogy?


“Some say that the age of chivalry is past, that the spirit of romance is dead. The age of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth.” -Charles Kingsley

Let me make one point abundantly clear, Men don’t have to be chivalrous if they don’t want to. The lack of Chivalry doesn’t make anyone less of a man. This also means that a woman shouldn’t expect to be treated chivalrously by all men or that they should feel offended if the man does not behave that way.  Chivalry is a personal choice; it’s an oath that must be given full heartedly.

People tend to state that they see chivalrous acts less and less often, frequently citing the Women’s Liberation Movement as the cause of that trend. Did Feminism kill Chivalry? Was Chivalry something used by men to demean women to a degree where it was needed to be stomped out by the militant feminist boots? Should a man fear being a male chauvinist if he had the audacity to open a door for a lady? Is a man who offers his seat in a bus proving he is a misogynist pig? Have the ideals of gender equality trumped traditional civility? Or have men simply become jaded with the fact that women don’t need them to survive?

Original full article on Good Men Project

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