Sure, we women are always saying we’re waiting for a prince to come riding up on his white steed and sweep us off our feet. But let’s be honest, is that what we really want? We complain that chivalry is dead, but do we actually really care? Take it from me, we don’t. Why is this? Because, plain and simple, it makes us feel like less of a person. What self-respecting woman wants to be seen as being helpless and weak? Certainly not me!

Chivalry dictates that a man has to look after a woman and see to her needs. That translates to being that we women are weak individuals who wouldn’t know what to do without a man to point her in the right direction. But, and I don’t know about other women, I certainly have a mind of my own and a pretty good dose of common sense. What woman in her right mind wants to be constantly petted and coddled? Sure, it would be great for a little while…but it gets old after awhile. To not be able to do a thing for yourself…that would be mind-numbing, absolute boredom.

I get that most men were raised to be gentlemen. We women like that. But don’t treat us like we’re going to break in a gentle breeze. We are modern women, we like to prove that we can forge our own way in a man’s world. We like to prove to others, but mainly to ourselves, that we can get far on our merits and hard work ethics. When a man steps in to generously ease our way because they feel it’s just too difficult, we lose confidence in ourselves and in our ability to do our jobs. Simply put, chivalric acts damage our self-esteem.

But not all acts of chivalry are disrespectful to women. Hold a door open for me, I’ll appreciate that. Especially if my hands are full. Let me go first. Hey, I’ll go right ahead because I am most likely in a hurry and just want to get home. But there is one thing that I won’t allow, and it drove my husband crazy when we were dating. I would never let him buy dinner, I would insist on either splitting the check, or if we were going to a movie as well, that he would pay for one, and I would pay for the other. I just thought it only fair that I pay my own way.

So would women mind if chivalry did die off? I’m not so sure we would. Yeah, we’d miss a few of the perks, but then again, the Feminist movement would have one in their corner. In some ways, yes, chivalry is very demeaning to women. It makes us feel and think less of ourselves. But on the other hand, we’d be losing out on feeling like a precious treasure that needs to be protected and loved.