Just open the door – by Alyssa Herzbrun
Hearing the word chivalry today, many often picture white knights and damsels in distress. Chivalry first originated in France and Spain around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It meshed Christian and military ideas of what was considered moral behavior. Teenage boys, hoping to gain a position in the service of a knight, were encouraged by men to learn the virtues of chivalry which included piety, honor, valor, courtesy, chastity and loyalty. When the idea of chivalry first developed, the qualities that made one chivalrous were in no way sexist. They were merely a code of conduct by which to live a religious, ethical and moral life.
The core values that we think of when we hear the word chivalry have not changed over the centuries, but our perception of them has. Men no longer train in the service of knights or learn horsemanship and military techniques. Nowadays, acts of chivalry are attributed to more common practices, including opening a door for someone, offering up an umbrella, pulling out a chair at a restaurant or even giving up a coat. These acts are not sexist because women often perform these same acts for men in a manner deemed kind and considerate. Yet many people believe that a woman opening the door for someone is not the same thing as a man doing it.
At one point in time, men performed chivalrous acts because women were viewed as the weaker sex. However, most of today’s men do not perform these acts because the woman is perceived as too weak to open the door or too fragile to go outside without an umbrella. These acts should not be viewed as sexist because women are often not viewed as incapable by men.
Neither male nor female should hesitate to perform an act of kindness for fear that others will view it as a sexist act. So, for those who still think chivalry is sexist, the next time you see a guy open the door for a girl, don’t over analyze it.
