Chivalry is the bold, gallant and courteous behavior associated with knights and knighthood. In today’s definition chivalry is defined as the sum of ideal qualifications of a gentleman including courtesy, generosity, and respect. Opening and closing doors, letting the opposite sex take consumption of food before oneself does, or even carrying a heavy load for a person in need. These all fall into the acts of chivalry.
Some may say chivalry is completely dead and needs rebirth; while others conclude that it’s just lost. In today’s world chivalry seems to be a choice. “The men on this campus have the values and morals of respect and courtesy instilled in them already. However, once they get on this campus and hang around bad influencers, they tend to throw all those values out the window,” junior Elizabeth Gardner stated.
Currently, some female students discuss how some males are no longer chivalrous, while male students discuss how females have been rejecting chivalry. Grad student John Okpamen said, “On a very diminutive scale, women contribute towards the lack of chivalry. With the sudden burst of adamantly independent women in the past few generations, I believe it is warranted that a rift in communication has taken place. Simply put, a man may take a woman saying, “I can do it on my own,” as a reason to never lend that hand of courtesy again.”
Senior Bianca Simpson agrees with Okpamen, ” I kind of believe that some woman present themselves as not needing the respect needed and therefore that mentality pushes guys away from showing the respect that a woman needs.” “Conversely, it’s not just the actions of women but the intentions of men,” Junior Josh Shelby said. “There are very few of us that know how a woman is to be treated. Especially on this campus, most guys aren’t courteous to girls at all. They just call them out of their name and strive only to get just one thing from them through interaction.” Therefore, the subject of upbringing and intentions comes to realization. How can we get it back to where it use to be?
Respect was a need and not a choice for both men and women. Okpamen stated, “As men, I believe we need to go back to our roots and remember that at the genesis of mankind, men were designed to be the protector. Realizing that we are the protectors, means that we can no longer use an “independent woman” as an excuse to not uphold our end of the bargain. A reality check is due in regards to how we respect our women, which will transform the way we treat our women.”
Chivalry is not a one way street; it requires participation from both parties. One thing that society lacks in the knowledge of chivalry is the participation from both sexes.
Black NLA journalist Darryl James stated, “Chivalry is about courtesy and respect, both given and received. Men should still pursue courtesy and respect for womanhood. We need to teach young men how to be gentlemen, so that our real traditions can be passed on. Women, who wish to receive chivalry today, must do two things: Stand ready to return the respect and courtesy, and communicate those desires properly.”
Therefore, to get back to the days of common courtesy of opening doors, sharing umbrellas with those who need it, or even carrying a heavy load voluntarily for one who needs it, we all must both respect one another, and hold interest of letting one take courtesy control.