Good Breeding: Ladies First
A true gentleman knows that a woman is his social and intellectual equal, but he does not forget that she is a member of the fairer sex. Just because you interact with women on a level playing field in society doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be holding doors.
No display is more telling about a man’s character than the way he treats women in inconsequential social interaction. Holding doors and elevators, giving up your seat in the subway or letting a lady pass you in line should all be second nature. Nothing is more boorish than brushing past a woman to get somewhere first, but we see it all the time. Our trains are packed with lazy, entitled men hogging seats while women, even aged and pregnant ones, hang on for dear life.
Modern men are so worried about themselves that they never stop to think about how their mannerisms appear to others. Women have good reason to think that chivalry is dead, but they are always holding out hope that it isn’t.
Be a gentleman, let the lady go first.
You will look like a hero, and the view isn’t bad either.
Bootstrap
(photo from the Trinity May Ball, University of Cambridge- Manners Required)
