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Is chivalry sexist?
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Have you ever addressed a group of men and women as 'guys', even though this is reinforcing the notion that men are more important than women? Shame on you.
Researchers from the Society for the Psychology of Women, based in Washington DC, have called chivalry 'benevolent sexism', adding that men who give advice on eletrical purchases or offer to carry women's bags are reinforcing ideas of female weakness.
The report misses some very important questions, though: What if the man doesn't offer and I force the bag upon him whilst he cries and complains that his fingers are about to drop off? Am I forcing him into a gender stereotype or just acting out of self-interest?
Why would I ever want to carry heavy bags? They hurt my fingers. I am ok with my fingers feeling a sense of shame over their feminine weakness.
Anyway, I'm pretty weak and am alarmingly prissy about any physical discomfort. This isn't because I was raised to feel princessy - my mum lugs cinder blocks around, chops tree trunks with her bare hands, strangles wild animals for fun etc - I just am naturally inclined to get other people to carry my stuff around. I am, in conclusion, a bit of a self-centred madam. When I had to cart all of my stuff home from university at the end of term, it was my male friend and my mum who did it. No sexism there. She did point out that I should have been born into a rich family with servants, but I was too busy resting my feet on her back to hear her properly.
There are obviously lots of other issues with this report: Through common usage, 'guys' no longer exclusively denotes males, so women don't need to feel that they aren't important enough to be included in the address.
Whilst the Society might argue that they have raised awareness of feminist issues, this report - or certainly the way it has been represented in the press - just reinforces the damaging idea that feminists are mad. It's actually stuff like this which causes young women to distance themselves from the notion of feminism, for fear of being accused of being a shrill, hysterical freak. This isn't what feminism is about - and there are many better examples of sexism than whether a man wants to carry your shopping for you.
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