A Glimpse of Chivalry’s Decay
Mitchell T. Smocovich
Central Texas College
I. Problem:
Over the past decade, Chivalry has been pushed to the wayside by ‘femi-nazis’ and the recently developed term “benevolent sexism”. To review and examine a specific gesture of chivalry, the following question is proposed: “When presented with an opportunity of holding open a door for a woman or refusing, what would the young men in a local shopping center choose?” It is hypothesized that the number of completed gestures would be substantial for older men and minimal for younger men. The behavior of young males was to be observed to determine their tendencies and compared with the tendencies of older men when presented with the opportunity to open the door. The result clearly proves the hypothesis. Men between the estimated ages of 15-25 no longer show a pattern of completing the chivalrous gesture while the age group of 30 and up held a higher rate of completion.
II. Theory:
Following Women’s Liberation effort during the 1960’s, which stammered to insist for the equal treatment of women in every facet of life, it eventually concluded any act of chivalry as sexist. A more recent study of this issue was published in the feminist journal Psychology of Women Quarterly; its determination relabeled chivalry as “benevolent sexism.” The theory of this observation is to study young male behavior in response to a large scale societal push to portray chivalry as sexist, and to reveal how male responses have been altered when presented with an opportunity to complete a chivalrous gesture as it compares to older male behavior.
III. Hypothesis:
From the hours of 1500 to 1800 on a Friday and Saturday afternoon at a local shopping center; observe (using a naturalistic observation method) and record the tendencies of men (from an estimated age group of 15-25 years old and 30+ ) willingness and completion of the chivalrous gesture of opening a door for a woman.
IV. Procedure or...