Dear Sir Who Gave Me His Seat on the Bus,

[melayneseahawk]

Now, while I'm usually the first person to bemoan "chivalry" as misogynistic (and to run to open the door for my male friends, much to their chagrin), I really appreciate you giving up your seat for me. I know you were doing it to give the little waif of a girl a seat, but I took it because the damn meds are playing havoc with my blood pressure. At the time you gave up your seat, I was feeling rather faint, and not looking forward to standing for almost half an hour on a warm, crowded bus. Disaster waiting for a place to happen, let me tell you.

I know I thanked you on the bus, but I want to do it again. You made my day a little bit easier.

Merry Christmas (as odd as it is for atheist, blasphemous little me to say it).

Me

Comments

[triannamaxwell.livejournal.com]

And hey, this is not necessarily "chivalry," he could just be that damn nice. Some people actually are. :D

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

How do you define chivalry as misogynistic? Misogyny, by definition, is actions taken indicating a hatred/distaste/prejudice against women. Chivalry, by definition*, is acting with proper respect and decorum towards women. How are the two the same?

*Or rather, the facet of chivalry which you're discussing above. There is of course more to it, but that's an irrelevant part of the discussion. Unless you see a need to bring loyalty to the sovereign into this discussion. :P

[melayneseahawk.livejournal.com]

"I can open my own fucking door, damnit."

There. Women are not the weaker sex.

And no, loyalty to the sovereign isn't involved.

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

I don't think that an assumption that women are the weaker sex is necessarily part of chivalry.

Yes, you can open your own door. Nobody denyin' that. But if someone thinks highly of you and wishes to hold the door, why is that a problem?

chivalry

[(Anonymous)]

Actually, chivalry does imply that women need to be taken care of, perpetutating stereotypes of female's weakness. That is not to say that every man who opens the door for a woman believes that she is weaker, but it does in fact imply that. One of my male friends opens car doors, scoots in chairs etc, but because that is what he DOES, not because he thinks I'm incapable of it. *shrugs*

I'm trying to remember the orgins of the practice... I know that they are false construct based on romanticized ideals about past behavior.

If, however, you felt faint, you probably looked faint, and thats good enough reason to give up a seat, in my world.

Re: chivalry

[melayneseahawk.livejournal.com]

You see, that's what I'm talking about.

[melayneseahawk.livejournal.com]

More often than not, it's just because I'm the girl, not because they know me enough to think of me one way or another.

Don't mind me, I'm a little nuts at the moment.

[miikarin.livejournal.com]

Hope you're feeling better!

It's always touching to hear about these random acts of kindness on buses. Goodness knows I rarely see any.

[melayneseahawk.livejournal.com]

Not yet, but I will be. The next two days are going to be a little harrowing.