Chivalry?!

I took the train to work the other day, and on my way home I had no choice but to stand all through my commute - an hour long of it! I was fine with that - it wasn't like I was the only one standing. And it wasn't like I was the ONLY female standing either.

But then this is where it pisses me off..

We had dinner at my parents' house that night and I told my mom - there is no such thing as chivalry anymore and it's so sad!!! Men inside the train were oh-so comfortable in their seats and not even once though of offering theirs to a woman. Oh goodness no - and what? They're left to stand through the whole commute? We can't have that now, can we? There was a pregnant lady that got on the train and no one offered her a seat. She was atleast 6mos pregnant. In my head, if I was a guy and I know my wife takes public transportation, I would atleast hope that someone would offer her a seat so she doesn't have to be standing the entire time. Tsk tsk tsk!

For Christmas, the husband got me the Oprah book. I really only wanted one article in it but since I can't just rip one page, I had to get the book. The article was written for mothers of boys in this generation. It was almost a 'plea' of some sort - with the article prefacing that as mothers of boys, the women of the future are depending on us to raise boys to men that we ourselves would like to marry someday. It hits close to home because I AM, AFTER ALL, A MOTHER OF A BOY.

Chivalry isn't dead by any means in my household. My husband still opens doors for me. He still carries my bags for me. Come to think of it, he does a lot of things for me that I can easily do myself. But he doesn't do it because I expect him to do it. He does it because he loves me, and he is a gentleman raised well by his mother. I can most certainly open my own door or carry my own stuff. My dad used to say, if I can't carry my own purse then don't bother bringing one and so no matter how heavy my purse gets, you'll never see the husband carry it unless I ask him to hold it really quick. But that's not the point. The point is, chivalry doesn't have to be extinct!

... And so it will be my personal mission to raise my son just like his father. To respect the notion that it's ok for men to be emotional, to be sensitive and most certainly be chivalrous. The husband reminds Jake to be gentle with me, because I'm a girl. This idea by far does not imply to my son that Mama is weak...but hopefully implements that it's perfectly OK. It's ok for him to know that women aren't by any means inferior...but at the same time, women also appreciates being taken cared of.

** I took the train this morning and because the original scheduled train was running late, the cars were packed like crazy! I was pleased to see this young Filipino boy, maybe in his early 20's, getting up to offer his seat to an elderly Chinese woman. He just made his mama proud :). There is hope after all....