Woman Wednesday: April 2, 2014

Hello, dears!  Mercy here!  How are y'all doing today?  ^_^  Today is....*drum roll* Wednesday!!!  You know what that means!  Woman Wednesday blog post!  I was having a lot of trouble thinking of a topic to discuss (writer's block, anyone?) when suddenly, I had a fantastic idea.  Or, at least, I hope you think it's fantastic.  ;-)

Chivalry

Now, you might be thinking, "But, Mercy, isn't chivalry more of a men's thing?  You know, they act like gentlemen, open doors for us, carry our heavy bags, all those delightful polite acts we see in the black and white movies?"  Well, yes, it is; that is a large part of chivalry.  But there's more to it.  Let's examine its history, shall we?

In society of ancient times, during the days of knights and ladies, chivalry was quite commonplace.  Women were to be honored, protected, and respected, not because they were "weaker" than men, but because the men believed that it was only right.  When a man was knighted, he swore “to defend to his uttermost the weak, the orphan, the widow and the oppressed; he should be courteous, and women should receive his especial care”.  These men believed that as women, we deserved that respect and honor.

As the years passed, chivalry evolved.  No longer did men fight duels for the sake of a woman's honor.  However, it still existed.  When the Titanic tragically sunk, women and children were rushed off the boat first.  Again, the men viewed it as respect due to us.

Nowadays, however...chivalry appears out of place.  Ancient.  Obsolete.  It's almost shocking when a man performs an act of chivalry.  Why is this?  I can't fully answer.  But I would like to share a thought provoking picture with you.

What do y'all think about this?  I'm inclined to think that it's very true.  If we were to step up to the plate and portray ourselves in a more ladylike manner, boys would be more willing to act as gentlemen.  An important question we must ask ourselves is how can we be more like ladies.  Well, a great way to start is to appreciate the acts of chivalry that are offered to us today.  Too often have I seen a young man open a door for a girl or woman only to be scornfully informed that, "I can open the door myself, thank you."  Such a contemptible statement would not only embarrass the poor young man but also decrease the chance of him performing another such act again.  Even if you aren't a fan of boys opening the door for you, please, be polite and thank him kindly for his act.  It's only right!  By showing how grateful you are for their chivalrous act, smile and say, "Thank you so much!  I greatly appreciate that!"  This will encourage him to repeat it in the future!  :)  

Another way to help bring back chivalry is to train your brothers!  By starting in your own family, you can slowly affect several different people.  My own mother taught my older brothers that chivalry is a requirement, not an option.  This is still a belief that they stand by.  Several times, my oldest brother has told me that the girls at college are greatly impressed with him because he opens doors for them, takes out their chairs, carries their books for them, just simple acts!  Hopefully, through his example, other men will also begin to act more chivalrously.

One more thing I'd like to make a statement about is... swearing.  *cringe*  I know, I know, it's one of those, "No, don't go there!" subjects.  But it's important!  If a girl swears around a guy, he is much more likely to not act in a chivalrous manner around her as she will not appear as a lady to him.  Honestly, what is feminine about a dirty mouth?  Not much.  :-P  I actually have a personal experience pertinent to this!  A year or so ago, I was attending a local country concert, and a group of young teen boys introduced themselves to me.  Probably felt bad for me as I was standing all by myself.  xD  But, as I was chatting with them (I believe most were 8th graders.  I was a sophomore at this time), a few of them started to allow cuss words to slip out until almost all were frequently swearing.  As a result, I stood on the outskirts of the group, awkwardly looking at my feet and fidgeting around.  I didn't know how to handle that situation.  Suddenly, one of the boys (let's call him Ethan) stepped towards me and quietly asked how I felt about swearing.  I was greatly surprised!  I didn't know he even cared!  I hate bothering people, so I just whispered that it made me a little uncomfortable.  Immediately, he walked into the middle of the group and told everyone to stop because I didn't feel comfortable with all the swearing going on.  No one cussed at all after that.  Well, one guy did, but Ethan smacked him in the arm for it.  xD

Cute story, right?  I was greatly touched.  :-)  But because I didn't swear like the rest, those boys stopped.  They realized that it made me uncomfortable and that it wasn't the right thing to do.  Chivalry still does exist, although it might currently be dormant.  As girls and young women, we can aid in its revival!  Let's act in a ladylike manner from now on, shall we?  

Well, that's the end of my post!  I hope y'all enjoyed it!  Leave a comment below if you like, and don't forget to like!  Currently, we are having unfortunate problems with our subscribe button and have not yet been able to fix it, but we are working on it!  Our next post should be Friday, though.  :)