Why is chivalry good for anyone?

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Tyri0n
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02 Jun 2013, 9:34 pm

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Ah, chivalry: That old code of behavior that men must follow in order to protect the "honor" of women they know. Through chivalry, a woman's honor becomes a man's responsibility; her honor brings honor to him, and her shame brings him shame. Chivalry isn't just offensive because it forces men to protect women, but also because traditional ideas of what brings "honor" and "shame" to women are often highly sexist. And so, chivalry also works to encourage women to internalize misogyny in order to preempt shame from befalling men.


http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blog ... -misogyny/

Quote:
benevolently sexist statements aren’t all sunshine and butterflies. They often end up implying that women are weak, sensitive creatures that need to be “protected.” While this may seem positive to some, for others – especially women in male-dominated fields – it creates a damaging stereotype.


http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psy ... nt-sexism/

It creates extra work and extra pressure for men (and more social rules for aspies to fall short on) and demeans women. Why does anyone support it except out of blind groupthink? (similar to traditional marriage)

There are three versions of chivalry:

1. Traditional Chivalry: Man's honor is tied up in a woman. So he is bound to protect her and take care of her. The dark underbelly of "benevolent sexism" is because, if a man's honor is tied up in a woman, that means men have a strong incentive to control the behavior of the women under their "protection" in order to protect their own honor. So, "get back in the kitchen."

2. Have-your-Cake-and-Eat-it-Too-Chivalry: Some modern women want all the privileges brought by feminism and full equality for good things. But they want to still force men to take on traditional provider/caretaker roles where it suits the women. This is primarily sexism against men.

3. Neo Chivalry: Like #1 except with very little benevolence attached. It mostly focuses on shaming and controlling women. This is a very common approach in the fundamentalist rural Christian homeschooling movement, people like the "quiverfull" movement: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/



Last edited by Tyri0n on 02 Jun 2013, 10:05 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Ann2011
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02 Jun 2013, 9:54 pm

In the first instance, the woman needs to chill out. The firemen were just reacting to her being dressed up. She should take it as a compliment. Although had it been me, I would have hated the loud noise!

I can't really comment on the second . . . I don't know anything about head scarf cultural mores.

The third point seems unrelated to me. The bouncer was doing his job - he encountered a nut case and was physically assaulted. I don't think this relates to chivalry.

The initial quote suggests that chivalry is a way of controlling women's behaviour by attaching her status to her reliance on a man. I wonder if there's any truth to this these days.



meems
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02 Jun 2013, 10:47 pm

It's benevolent sexism, it may be taught to people but it's good to question our conditioning. I don't think it's done with the intention of being sexist, but that doesn't change what it is.

It's nice to hold a door for anyone, it's nice to be nice to anyone, but it's demeaning to women if you think it's only important to do these things for women. It's internalized misogyny to expect men to do things for you just because you're a woman.

I would reply at length but my laptop is out of commission so... I'll wait until I'm at a computer to expand on this.


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02 Jun 2013, 11:20 pm

meems wrote:
It's benevolent sexism, it may be taught to people but it's good to question our conditioning. I don't think it's done with the intention of being sexist, but that doesn't change what it is.

It's nice to hold a door for anyone, it's nice to be nice to anyone, but it's demeaning to women if you think it's only important to do these things for women. It's internalized misogyny to expect men to do things for you just because you're a woman.

I would reply at length but my laptop is out of commission so... I'll wait until I'm at a computer to expand on this.


Idk about it always being internalized misogyny always when women expect it. To me this feels as it varies a lot by local culture. I think the list of three tyrion posted is very true, try and find which applies mostly to your locale. Where I live now its for sure #2. Where I lived before in the Midwest it was #3 and in pr it was #1 with a mix of misogyny. Its very easy to tell them apart when there's experience in the scenarios.

That said I personally don't treat either gender, race or age any different from another. Even as I can tell what society forces me to do. And funnily enough I've been able to tell how people react to that, and its usually negative by everyone.



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02 Jun 2013, 11:23 pm

Some of my female cousins have told me how they like people being chivalrous with them, they say it is about manners and feeling protected and being taken care of. One of them once teased me about not carrying a bag she had, but it was a very light one and I figured she could do it herself. Now they don't ask me to carry their stuff unless it's heavy :lol: which I actually don't mind because I am objectively and undeniably the stronger one. I believe chivalry is an extension of the politeness and courtesy I extend to all genders, it just gets called that way when it is from a man towards a woman. I do wonder if extra effort would be expected by a girlfriend from me though.4


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02 Jun 2013, 11:31 pm

Door holding I do not care. I also find it odd when guys modify their speech because a girl ( me) is around so they spew profanity and disrespect when they are in the hallway but are super polite around me. That is not genuine.

What I do appreciate is when guys help me carry things. I am small and petite. I can throw my weight around (haha martial arts joke) but a 50 lb box is half my body weight. Guys as a general physiological rule have more muscle for equivalent body size and their muscle tends to be denser. I do not thinks guys should only do heavy labor but it is WAY appreciated if someone offers to help with heavy boxes or holds the door if I have lots of stuff in my arms ( but anyone should hold the door for someone else with their arms full of stuff).


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03 Jun 2013, 12:30 am

Several points on chivalry:

Chivalry comes from the same source as romantic love, which began in the Middle Ages, and allowed young women to choose their husbands. This is something which made the West unique; arranged marriages were the rule everywhere else, and are still the rule in some parts of the world. Women being allowed to choose their spouses meant that women were seen as individuals, rather than as pieces of property to be bought and sold, and with absolutely no control over their own destiny.

Professional police forces for cities and counties are something relatively new (about 150 years old). And before there were regular police patrols, life was a lot more dangerous, and women in particular needed to be protected. Despite the horrors that do happen, the fact is that life is becoming progressively safer--something we are prone to take for granted.

Finally, some men need a formal reminder that women are to be treated with respect. Men are normally much larger and stronger than women, making it difficult for women to defend themselves.

It has been my experience that any socio-cultural practice that has been around for many centuries serves some useful purpose. Assuming that just because something is old that it must be stupid or vicious is to assume that all those who came before were stupid or vicious, and that somehow we are smarter and morally superior. Throwing away our traditions without careful examination is the ultimate in not only barbarism, but narcissism as well.



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03 Jun 2013, 12:45 am

Maybe because it works with some guys? Most guys I know are that way. I have yet to even meet a 50-50 guy. I think for a woman to want a chilvary kind of guy, she must also accept to be the traditionally "submissive"role. I think it's wrong to expect chilvary and yet get all the works of feminism. Even with chilvary there's give-and-take, for example girls sometimes even claim to have to harder than men. Men who are chilvarous expect a woman to "act" like a woman, by dressing girly, doing her hair, nails, and make up. There are exceptions where there are men who don't like the girl to have any make up on, but yet if he is chilvarous, then he still expects her to be "submissive"(ordering around, cooking, cleaning, arranging).

Some don't see the chivalry idea as "unequal" either, some see it as 50-50 since the man has certain responsibilites and the woman does too. I currently like chilvarly because I just have it in my nature to enjoy cooking, cleaning, and arranging for the benefit of someone else. Alot of girls don't want that though.


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03 Jun 2013, 1:28 am

cakey wrote:
Maybe because it works with some guys? Most guys I know are that way. I have yet to even meet a 50-50 guy. I think for a woman to want a chilvary kind of guy, she must also accept to be the traditionally "submissive"role. I think it's wrong to expect chilvary and yet get all the works of feminism. Even with chilvary there's give-and-take, for example girls sometimes even claim to have to harder than men. Men who are chilvarous expect a woman to "act" like a woman, by dressing girly, doing her hair, nails, and make up. There are exceptions where there are men who don't like the girl to have any make up on, but yet if he is chilvarous, then he still expects her to be "submissive"(ordering around, cooking, cleaning, arranging).

Some don't see the chivalry idea as "unequal" either, some see it as 50-50 since the man has certain responsibilites and the woman does too. I currently like chilvarly because I just have it in my nature to enjoy cooking, cleaning, and arranging for the benefit of someone else. Alot of girls don't want that though.


Just say you like chivalry, no one is gonna behead you here, not even meems :lol:.

I am with MXH on this one, it's a gender-based behavior but women often expect it too.


I personally hate chivalry, I feel like a lame knight if I ever do it, but most women love it, in fact when a French man kisses a woman's hand (something that Arab men don't do, rural Turks do it for the elderly of both genders) then women often envy her or often comment by something like "THIS is a real gentleman".

But Chivalry is still strong in my area on its own.

From the other thread
Quote:
The_Face_of_Boo wrote:
^ Chivalry etiquette (شهامة) is still existing strongly in my area (The Levant) in everyday life. Not in the "ladies first" / holding doors fashion (even though those are recently imported in the latest generations) but in other ways; and if the man doesn't abide by it he usually gets the "stare of death" and shunned by others, especially by women.

Frequent examples:
- In bus, if there's no seat and a woman gets in, it is expected from the youngest adult male to stand up and let her take the seat, the same is done for the male elderly but the priority is always for the female.
- If you pass by a neighbor lady holding heavy stuff/bags then you are expected to give her hand, even if the lady happens to be three times your size.
If you don't she might talk badly about you to her friends as someone "lacking manners". lol
- Even if the car is hers, the guy is supposed to offer driving - and that not only in dating context but even among friends.
- And yeah, the typical wheel change thing; I think this one is international.
- At night times, the guy is supposed to escort the girl to her destination. That one varies from one country/area to another (in more strict areas, the guy should be a relative).

I've witnessed that same behavior among Lebaneses, Syrians, Jordanians and Iraqis. and they are very very common and frequent.


I think the more macho the culture is the more there's chivalry.

Also in my area, women stay feminists until they get engaged :lol:, after that they expect the man to pay the house, the wedding, almost everything, to keep working while them leaving work after while even before kids. :-|



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03 Jun 2013, 1:33 am

Shatbat wrote:
Some of my female cousins have told me how they like people being chivalrous with them, they say it is about manners and feeling protected and being taken care of. One of them once teased me about not carrying a bag she had, but it was a very light one and I figured she could do it herself. Now they don't ask me to carry their stuff unless it's heavy :lol: which I actually don't mind because I am objectively and undeniably the stronger one. I believe chivalry is an extension of the politeness and courtesy I extend to all genders, it just gets called that way when it is from a man towards a woman. I do wonder if extra effort would be expected by a girlfriend from me though.4


But isn't it interesting when I do the same thing to a guy - they simply consider it an extension of being considerate, good manners and being nice?

Personally, what ever I assume is simply an extension of being considerate, I am likely to view it as a good thing.

It becomes difficult to draw the line between practicality / being considerate and sexism sometimes.


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cakey
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03 Jun 2013, 2:03 am

The_Face_of_Boo wrote:
cakey wrote:
Maybe because it works with some guys? Most guys I know are that way. I have yet to even meet a 50-50 guy. I think for a woman to want a chilvary kind of guy, she must also accept to be the traditionally "submissive"role. I think it's wrong to expect chilvary and yet get all the works of feminism. Even with chilvary there's give-and-take, for example girls sometimes even claim to have to harder than men. Men who are chilvarous expect a woman to "act" like a woman, by dressing girly, doing her hair, nails, and make up. There are exceptions where there are men who don't like the girl to have any make up on, but yet if he is chilvarous, then he still expects her to be "submissive"(ordering around, cooking, cleaning, arranging).

Some don't see the chivalry idea as "unequal" either, some see it as 50-50 since the man has certain responsibilites and the woman does too. I currently like chilvarly because I just have it in my nature to enjoy cooking, cleaning, and arranging for the benefit of someone else. Alot of girls don't want that though.


Just say you like chivalry, no one is gonna behead you here, not even meems :lol:.

I am with MXH on this one, it's a gender-based behavior but women often expect it too.


I personally hate chivalry, I feel like a lame knight if I ever do it, but most women love it, in fact when a French man kisses a woman's hand (something that Arab men don't do, rural Turks do it for the elderly of both genders) then women often envy her or often comment by something like "THIS is a real gentleman".

But Chivalry is still strong in my area on its own.

From the other thread
Quote:
The_Face_of_Boo wrote:
^ Chivalry etiquette (شهامة) is still existing strongly in my area (The Levant) in everyday life. Not in the "ladies first" / holding doors fashion (even though those are recently imported in the latest generations) but in other ways; and if the man doesn't abide by it he usually gets the "stare of death" and shunned by others, especially by women.

Frequent examples:
- In bus, if there's no seat and a woman gets in, it is expected from the youngest adult male to stand up and let her take the seat, the same is done for the male elderly but the priority is always for the female.
- If you pass by a neighbor lady holding heavy stuff/bags then you are expected to give her hand, even if the lady happens to be three times your size.
If you don't she might talk badly about you to her friends as someone "lacking manners". lol
- Even if the car is hers, the guy is supposed to offer driving - and that not only in dating context but even among friends.
- And yeah, the typical wheel change thing; I think this one is international.
- At night times, the guy is supposed to escort the girl to her destination. That one varies from one country/area to another (in more strict areas, the guy should be a relative).

I've witnessed that same behavior among Lebaneses, Syrians, Jordanians and Iraqis. and they are very very common and frequent.


I think the more macho the culture is the more there's chivalry.

Also in my area, women stay feminists until they get engaged :lol:, after that they expect the man to pay the house, the wedding, almost everything, to keep working while them leaving work after while even before kids. :-|

Wow, I didn't know some people still do the kiss-on-hand thing. I always saw it in cartoons. I think if I saw that motion here though, it'd be a bit awkward lol. I think my "culture" is very macho coming from Mexican background.


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03 Jun 2013, 2:19 am

cakey wrote:
The_Face_of_Boo wrote:
cakey wrote:
Maybe because it works with some guys? Most guys I know are that way. I have yet to even meet a 50-50 guy. I think for a woman to want a chilvary kind of guy, she must also accept to be the traditionally "submissive"role. I think it's wrong to expect chilvary and yet get all the works of feminism. Even with chilvary there's give-and-take, for example girls sometimes even claim to have to harder than men. Men who are chilvarous expect a woman to "act" like a woman, by dressing girly, doing her hair, nails, and make up. There are exceptions where there are men who don't like the girl to have any make up on, but yet if he is chilvarous, then he still expects her to be "submissive"(ordering around, cooking, cleaning, arranging).

Some don't see the chivalry idea as "unequal" either, some see it as 50-50 since the man has certain responsibilites and the woman does too. I currently like chilvarly because I just have it in my nature to enjoy cooking, cleaning, and arranging for the benefit of someone else. Alot of girls don't want that though.


Just say you like chivalry, no one is gonna behead you here, not even meems :lol:.

I am with MXH on this one, it's a gender-based behavior but women often expect it too.


I personally hate chivalry, I feel like a lame knight if I ever do it, but most women love it, in fact when a French man kisses a woman's hand (something that Arab men don't do, rural Turks do it for the elderly of both genders) then women often envy her or often comment by something like "THIS is a real gentleman".

But Chivalry is still strong in my area on its own.

From the other thread
Quote:
The_Face_of_Boo wrote:
^ Chivalry etiquette (شهامة) is still existing strongly in my area (The Levant) in everyday life. Not in the "ladies first" / holding doors fashion (even though those are recently imported in the latest generations) but in other ways; and if the man doesn't abide by it he usually gets the "stare of death" and shunned by others, especially by women.

Frequent examples:
- In bus, if there's no seat and a woman gets in, it is expected from the youngest adult male to stand up and let her take the seat, the same is done for the male elderly but the priority is always for the female.
- If you pass by a neighbor lady holding heavy stuff/bags then you are expected to give her hand, even if the lady happens to be three times your size.
If you don't she might talk badly about you to her friends as someone "lacking manners". lol
- Even if the car is hers, the guy is supposed to offer driving - and that not only in dating context but even among friends.
- And yeah, the typical wheel change thing; I think this one is international.
- At night times, the guy is supposed to escort the girl to her destination. That one varies from one country/area to another (in more strict areas, the guy should be a relative).

I've witnessed that same behavior among Lebaneses, Syrians, Jordanians and Iraqis. and they are very very common and frequent.


I think the more macho the culture is the more there's chivalry.

Also in my area, women stay feminists until they get engaged :lol:, after that they expect the man to pay the house, the wedding, almost everything, to keep working while them leaving work after while even before kids. :-|

Wow, I didn't know some people still do the kiss-on-hand thing. I always saw it in cartoons. I think if I saw that motion here though, it'd be a bit awkward lol. I think my "culture" is very macho coming from Mexican background.


It's a French thing, at least in their older generation, when the former French president (Jacques Chirac) came to here he kissed the First Lady's hand, it was all on the local news, the UN French unit often do it too.



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03 Jun 2013, 2:19 am

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Finally, some men need a formal reminder that women are to be treated with respect. Men are normally much larger and stronger than women, making it difficult for women to defend themselves.


So it's either "oh, poor delicate flowers" or putting women in a situation where they need to defend themselves against you? Because you shouldn't be doing the latter to anyone, male or female.


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03 Jun 2013, 2:38 am

Thelibrarian wrote:
Several points on chivalry:

Chivalry comes from the same source as romantic love, which began in the Middle Ages, and allowed young women to choose their husbands. This is something which made the West unique; arranged marriages were the rule everywhere else, and are still the rule in some parts of the world. Women being allowed to choose their spouses meant that women were seen as individuals, rather than as pieces of property to be bought and sold, and with absolutely no control over their own destiny.



European women in the Middle Ages had the choice to choose their husbands? Are you sure you're not confusing it with the modern age? lol

Chivalry originated from European knighthood, true that, but it's not the only origin: Eastern cultures (Arab knights, Samurai) had their own code of Chivalry.

From wiki:
Quote:
Their ideas of chivalry were also further influenced by Saladin, who was viewed as a chivalrous knight by medieval Christian writers. The military orders of the crusades which developed in this period came to be seen as the earliest flowering of chivalry,[11] although it remain unclear to what extent the notable knights of this period, Saladin, Godfrey of Bouillon, William Marshal orBertrand du Guesclin, actually did set new standards of knightly behaviour, or to what extent they merelybehaved according to existing models of conduct which came in retrospect to be interpreted along the lines of the "chivalry" ideal of the Late Middle Ages.[8]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivalry#O ... tary_ethos


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtly_lo ... _influence



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03 Jun 2013, 8:50 am

I thought chivalry was protecting women when they did need it, not about women saying men protect them all the time and make us seem controlling. If she needs it she does, if she doesn't she doesn't, it doesn't make what we did to protect her any more or less valid in intent or effect. How are men even able to protect when women don't need it? When the danger comes, are we still supposed to not do anything so you can take care of yourself? Everything is a double edged sword, one minute we are being polite, and another it is controlling. Being polite is seen as polite, so how is being chivalrous not seen as chivalrous? If a man is controlling in that type of relationship, then he is not being chivalrous, it is that simple. So make up your minds, is he being chivalrous, OR controlling, you don't have to encourage his behavior by telling him he is chivalrous if he is being a dick, so why are we even talking about this?


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03 Jun 2013, 9:51 am

If a man runs for his live without protecting the woman he would be called a coward for the rest of his life, mostly by women.

If a man acts chivalrously and risks his life to protect the woman, he would be called misogynist, mostly by women.

Men can never win :lol:.