Chivalry May Be Dead, But Sexism is Alive and Kickin’!

This blog may appear to contradict an earlier post, but it’s not meant to do so.

So my maintenance light comes on and I know it’s because I’m about due for an oil change, but due to my ridiculously busy schedule I don’t have time to have one done, so I figured I’d just pour a bottle in to tide me over til I did have time to do so. So I’m in the Wal-Mart parking lot poppin’ the hood and as he’s walking towards me this guy says “don’t you wanna wait il your boyfriend comes back from inside to do that for you?” and I say “to do what for me?” and he said “whatever you’re trying to do” and I said “ I know what I’m doing, thanks.” And he just walks into the store. Then as he’s walking out I’m getting’ in the car and he says “why are you moving your boyfriend’s car? won’t he get mad if you mess up his clutch” to which I said nothing and just peeled off.

So let me get this straight… men no longer want to do the “gentlemanly things” like open a door for a lady or pay for dinner, yet when it comes to doing anything mechanical to a car it’s ok for it to be a manly thing?

I certainly wouldn’t mind having a guy do all the maintenance to my car, however I usually never have one around, so I made it a point to learn how to do basic things like change my oil, change a tire, etc. so as not to have to depend on a man to do that for me (again, not cuz I don’t want or need one, but cuz like I said I usually never have one lol).

And being a man does not mean you know cars. I know more about cars and car maintenance than a lot of guys do (and I’m by no means a car genius). There have been times where my exes’ cars have had issues and I’ve told them how to go about fixing it. Call me shallow, but the only reason I really ever got into cars was a) so that I could kinda flirt w/ guys or talk up cars with a guy in an attempt to get to talk to him and b) in the event I ever got a car I could race, or ever went to a car show and I could impress a guy with a conversation on the pros and cons of cold air intakes and such and such lol

Nonetheless, I’m offended that he assumed I was driving my bf’s car just cuz I’m a girl. If he was looking inside my car well enough he would’ve noticed my pink punching gloves and my Coach bag in the passenger seat- I’m sure most boyfriends don’t use those (I’d hope not anyway).

Girls Make the Good Guys Go Bad!

Forgive me for the title of my blog, I currently have the Cobra Starship song “Good Girls Go Bad” stuck in my head. Anywho, an article I read recently discussed a guy’s blog about chivalry, and the angry comments made by women. The guy mentioned classic acts of chivalry, such as opening a woman’s door for her, helping her with her coat (to which one woman replied “I can dress myself, thanks, I’m a big girl now.”), and my personal favorite, don’t drive off until the woman is safely inside (to which one woman replied “ Why? Because a mouse will come out of the bushes and attack me?” to which the author of the article replied “no, because a rapist could attack you,” which is exactly what happened to someone she knew). These women protested against these classic acts of consideration, yet women will get mad when men don’t act like gentlemen. It’s no wonder men don’t understand us!

There is obviously a misunderstanding of chivalry. Women frown upon chivalry because it makes them feel less independent, and men are just being polite. One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of chivalry states that it is “…gracious courtesy and high-minded consideration especially to women.” Oh, chivalry, thou art horrible! Times sure have changed from the times when a gentleman would open your car door, give up his seat on the train, or pick up the tab (I’m sure the women wouldn’t object to this act of chivalry). Nowadays, most men barely hold the door open for you if you’re coming in behind them. Why should men try to act chivalrous if women will b!tch about it? It’s no wonder we’ve got so many songs that disrespect women. We shun gentlemanly acts. We automatically assume the worst in all men so that when we find the rare ones that actually are gentlemen we crush their sincere little hearts. Then we fall for the bad guys who break our hearts then b!tch to our friends about how we just can’t find a good man.

Good men are everywhere. We interact with them everyday. They’re not lurking in the shadows. They’re not really hot cars chillin’ in the parking lot waiting to Transform. They’re not a needle in a haystack. We don’t need a fine-toothed comb to find them. We just need to give them the benefit of the doubt. Of course there are bad guys out there, but we can’t let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch. Men (and people for that matter) treat you the way you let them. So next time someone opens a door for you, just smile and say thank you, otherwise be prepared to have a lot of doors slammed in your face. Chivalry ought to be kept alive, but its fate is left in the hands of women. Shakespeare may have been right when he wrote “the lady doth protest too much,” but now is our chance to prove him wrong and make the bad boys go good!