How feminists have burned their own bra
I've been conducting an experiment on my morning bus commute
to work over the past few weeks.
You see, I get on the bus quite early when there are always
spare seats. Around four stops later,
the bus is packed to the rafters; standing room only.
As the bus fills up and all the seats are taken, I start
monitoring the people who get on the bus with the same intensity of an Eagle
scanning for some prey in the desert. As
soon as a female boards the bus and has nowhere to sit, I’ll offer my seat to
them.
Yes, it’s an attempt to be chivalrous and, well, it’s just a
nice thing to do. The problem is, it hasn’t gone
so well – as of Wednesday this week my seating offer had been rebuffed 14 times
in a row.
In fact, the incredulity with which my seating offers are met would leave the writer of "I am woman hear me roar" cowering in the corner.
It led me to ask the following question: why are women these
days so reluctant to accept a guy doing something nice for them?
For example, according to feminist blog, Madame Noire, “Chivalrous
behaviour is no longer the norm, because it is not required. Gone are the days
when women expected men to open, hold and close doors for them. Many would
rather do it themselves to demonstrate their ‘independence.’”
I actually reckon it goes a bit further than that. There was a case recently where an intern at
the Herald Sun newspaper wrote a scathing article about her experience at the
newspaper. One of her chief criticisms
was the following:
“Men were also continuously and unnecessarily sexist,
waiting for me to walk through doors and leave the elevator before them.”
What the…? So, it
seems doing nice things for the opposite sex, in some women’s minds, is not
nice, it’s actually sexist?
Maybe it’s as Dave Chappelle says, “Chivalry is dead… and
women killed it.”
It seems that long gone are the days when opening doors for
women, carrying heavy luggage for them or offering your bus seat to them was
considered charming. Now, women take it
as a sign that you reckon they are inferior to you and are implying they can’t
survive without a little help.
If you offer them a seat, they’re thinking “You don’t think
I’m capable of standing up?”
You offer to carry something heavy and they’re thinking “You
think I’m too weak to carry it myself?”
That’s because feminists have been saying for years that
women can and should do everything men do and anyone who challenges this is a misogynist,
a chauvinist, a pig and possibly plays Rugby League.
The other option is that women are distinctly mistrustful of
men and assume that if a man does something chivalrous, it’s clearly a deep,
dark ploy to try and get them into bed.
Again, Rugby League players have not helped dispel this myth.
However, enough is enough.
Ladies, please, accept the fact that some guys might
just want to be nice. And because they’re
being nice, just accept their damn niceness!
What do the women out there think, though? Is chivalry really dead? Is it offensive if men do nice things for
you? Or do you think chivalrous guys are
being a) offensive and sexist, or b) trying to get you into bed?
All I know is that I’ll keep offering my bus seats. And if past experience is anything to go by,
I’ll enjoy a comfy-seated ride all the way to work regardless.
Comments
seriously though, while i'd appreciate the offer, i probably wouldn't take the offer up, but not for either of the reasons you mentioned. simply because it's not necessary.
i do think it is more towards option a) though - the implication that women are the weaker sex and need to sit down more.
I am currently in a country where this is demonstrated to the max. I have been approached time after time here as I am seen as the rich westerner and it would seem that guys see us as opportunity. It is horrible and ends up making you quite distrustful and overly cautious.
So I think it's great that u continue your quest of noble chivalry and wish u the best of luck. At worst you may restore the trust of some girls who dare to take up the offer and find you ask nothing in return.
Chivalry is not dead but it's not for the faint hearted!
I have no problem offering feminists equality and reserving chivalry for ladies.