I feel like I never hear the end of girls begging for guys to be gentlemanly. How often have I heard girls complain that guys don't treat them with respect, don't open doors, that "chivalry is dead"? Every time girls watch the movies set in a time when men courted ladies and took them for walks and asked their father if they could date their daughter and wore lapels, girls swoon. We're goners, I tell you. Yes, we. I would be lying if I said I didn't do all the things listed above.
Call me old-fashioned, I suppose. If I had to name my opinion on dating, it would probably sound very old-fashioned to people. Personally, I like to call it being classy.
I mean, yes. By all means, we girls need to flirt. We can't stay hidden in our rooms watching re-runs of "Once Upon A Time" and "Young Victoria" over and over again with our roommates, then expect our complaints about no men in our lives to be valid. I'll be the first to admit I struggle right there.
We should make sure guys know we are available. We need to get this idea out of our head that romances will always start like they do in the movies - sudden eye contact, a demure little smile, and suddenly he's taking you on endless dates (which all ends with a big misunderstanding that is resolved in the middle of a thunderstorm/traffic jam/work presentation). That's not how it works, ladies. In fact, I think that in most cases, if that happened to you in real life, many girls would find it sufficiently "creepy" (a word that is good for an entirely different blog post, because we girls have started using it way too much).
But. I also believe that if the girl is letting the guy know she's open to dating, the guy should, for the most part, make the first moves.
Call me crazy.
The problem is, not everyone agrees with this. The problem is, there are plenty of girls out there who are willing to throw themselves at any man that walks past. The problem is, so many guys are used to the idea of not having to do any work, and getting all the benefits. Yes, not all guys - please don't think I'm making a huge generalization here. I know there are exceptions, but let's not pretend there hasn't been an increase in this mentality, and a huge predicament has arisen.
I saw this on pinterest tonight:
Interesting, huh?
Boy, this got me thinking. And it's totally right.
Yes, guys need to improve. But yes, girls need to improve, too. We can't expect to have these incredible "gentlemen" lining up to meet us if we don't act like ladies ourselves. I'm not saying we have to wear dresses all the time, not have opinions, and stop voting - no, I think we've progressed in wonderful ways over the past century.
But how can we expect men to treat us with respect if we don't even treat ourselves with respect?
That's why I wrote this whole things, kiddos. Because I think we need to bring a little more class back into our society. I want you to start acting like you're a gentleman if you're a guy - open doors, take girls out on dates, be sincere, don't objectify, and show respect.
And if you're a girl, you better add some more class to your life and stop whining. I don't want to hear about your woes with boys that don't treat you with respect if you don't treat yourself with respect. Show them that you deserve it. Treat your body with respect so they will too.
Don't give them any room to possibly think of you in any other way than what you are - a lady.
