Some may say that chivalry is not practiced anymore; but with the rise in women’s rights movements and people proclaiming to be feminists, are men still expected to hold doors and act as the main breadwinners in the household?
“If we [look at chivalry as being] compassionate and kind, I think it’s good. If it is condescending and to show a man’s power [over] a woman or man’s ability to provide over a women in the sense that she cannot provide for herself, I think it’s pretty offensive,” Sociology instructor at Sinclair Community College and self-proclaimed feminist Kathleen Gish said.
She said she appreciates chivalry in the sense of being courteous.
“I think a relationship without courtesy and kindness is no relationship at all,” Gish said.
“If my spouse were to hold the door open for me or do something kind for me, I’d want him to do it because he loves me.”
Dr. Jennifer King-Cooper, a Psychology professor at Sinclair and feminist, feels the same way.
“Not only do I appreciate it when someone holds the door open for me, I’m going to hold the door for [my husband] if that’s the order we go through the door in,” King-Cooper said. “So I think common courtesy for everyone is the proper thing.”
King-Cooper said she disagrees with chivalry in the sense that women are weak and need protection.
“What I object to about chivalry is that you should protect those that can’t protect themselves,” she said.
King-Cooper said over time, expectations of women have changed.
While women were at one time expected to only manage the household, more is expected of them in this modern day and age.
“Women are expected to hold a job today and at the same time manage the household and the kids,” King-Cooper said. “Men are stepping up to the plate, I think they’re getting better at it, but I think women hold more responsibility a lot of the time… Who cleans the bathroom?”
Gish said women have made large strides toward equality, but working women still earn 73 percent of what full-time working men earn.
“For me, it’s (feminism) about women’s rights and it’s not about hating men,” King-Cooper said.
Gish describes feminism as misunderstood.
“It’s thought to be a militant movement against men,” Gish said. “When in reality what it is, is a movement oriented towards the equality of the sexes.”