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How to Treat a Woman
With the kind of society we have today, where everyone fights for equality and justice, pertinent issues like gender equality and anti-racism movements are but typical. Perhaps one of the most imminent movements is feminism. Feminism aims to raise the level of equality of women compared to that of men. So, how then should a woman be treated equally? Is it by being a gentleman? Does it require dying for a fine lady like what the Knights of the Round Table would do? Is it following the knight’s “code of chivalry”? Or is it simply just having respect for women? Webster defines gentleman as “a man of noble or gentle birth” and chivalry as “the sum of the ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms.” But are these the real meanings of these two intertwined terms for both men and women of our generation today?
When asked if they believed in chivalry and gentleman hood, most women I asked said that they do believe in both, but that it is rare to find a species of man who exemplifies these characteristics today. Most of them said that men these days act like a gentleman out of obligation and not of pure intent. Women have also stressed that being a gentleman does not mean treating a woman like a baby, but it’s all about respect. Respecting their entirety, and treating them as equals and not as a weaker sex.
Surprisingly, the men that I asked said that, indeed, the act of being a gentleman or being chivalrous is a facade that most men take up today. The reason is that they feel like it has become an obligation for them to act courteously in front of women or even a pain in the neck. But one had said that men have these characteristics embedded in them, it’s just that they treat every
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woman differently, depending on her personality and attitude. One may be independent and hates being treated sweetly and one may be the kind of girl who...