Experimental Living

Last week in the first post of this series, we discussed chivalry’s basic history. This week we’ll delve deeper into its fundamental tenets and focus on the undermining effects feminism has had on its downfall.

Protection and Balance

As the centuries progressed, chivalry became more defined and balanced, mainly with one principle in mind: to treat the weaker sex with deference and respect. As a result, America in the 19th and early 20th centuries was built upon a moral culture that remained firmly established in its treatment of women. 

It was not an uncommon gesture for a man to help a lone woman with her grocery bags, or to open a car door for his date, or to merely tip his hat to a passing woman, even if he did not know her by name. Crimes such as rape, murder, and abuse were uncommon and were found mainly in large cities and the “bad sections of town.” Families allowed their teenage daughters to shop and go out alone in the broad daylight without worrying for their physical safety, or suspecting that there was a chance they could be kidnapped and never seen again. Such things were generally unheard of, and existed only in extreme cases.

The Culprit

What has happened in our culture to transform a peaceful and innocent era into one of turmoil, degradation, and violence? Why are so many men so easily persuaded into murder, rape, hatred, and sexism today? 

The truth is simple: chivalry has been destroyed because those it defended and served rejected it. 

That’s right: women have killed chivalry by turning against it and denying its principles as lies. In other words, I suppose you could say that feminism killed chivalry.

The change progressed slowly but surely, coming to a boil in the mid-1960s. Though the differences were subtle and difficult to see, they were there, and pent up into a full-blown rebellion that shot across society like a destructive comet in the 1960s. This rebellion, known mainly as the Feminist Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, was fundamental in bringing about chivalry’s demise. 

Women began to rebel against chivalry for what I’ve been able to pinpoint as a simple but gravitational human flaw: pride. Though they may not have realized what exactly it was they were rebelling against, chivalry embodies every principle they rejected and hated in fear: protection. Because they claimed they could “do it all”, they also refused help from men. In return, chivalry naturally backed away, giving women what they wanted: so-called “freedom”.

Freedom?

But what has this freedom from male protection brought women today? Nothing good. 

Certainly, feminism has brought beneficial changes, such as better conditions in the workplace, suffrage for women, and a more open educational environment. But when untempered and unrestrained, militant feminism’s changes are more prominent and negative, destroying a good foundation with its heavy flaws. 

Naturally, as men backed away and withdrew common courtesy, morals faded and principles were abolished, radical tenets of so-called “equality” and “rights” instated in their stead. Naturally, sexism took the place of deferential civility, and the very force women were fighting against only grew stronger. The result? A steady and rapid increase of crime, disrespect, and- surprisingly- less freedom for women. 

The attitude that radical feminists pushed into society was rapidly adopted by the majority of women, mainly in the college-age spectrum. Because they told themselves they could “have it all”, they did. Having let loose their moral boundaries, women paraded their rights to the extreme, and cast aside all ties with virtue. Promiscuity reigned on the college campus, along with drugs, violence, alcohol, and the inevitability of rape and murder.

As one journalist deftly put it, “As women, the traditional gatekeepers and pacesetters, collectively dropped their standards and engaged in commitment-free, purely physical relationships, they opened the door for the treatment that their behavior elicits.” [1]

The blame lies wholly with those chivalry protected, and not with its champions and advocates.

The Results

No longer can we peacefully go about our business during the bright hours of the day without worrying for our physical safety, without being haunted by the hovering headlines of crime and hatred in the news. No longer can our young children freely wander the neighborhood without new cases each day of abduction and murder. No longer can the elderly simply walk alone on an empty street corner believing that deferential respect for their age will protect them against theft and abuse. 

Radical feminism has much to answer for, and its proponents are the primary source of society’s treatment of women today. Instead of achieving the respect they clamored for, feminists have received a curse: the removal of the main force that protected them despite their unwillingness. 

Certainly, chivalry was not the sole force that maintained goodness in American society. But it was an embodiment of biblical values and principles, and a driving force in the preservation of morality. With its removal, the glue that held morals together had melted, never to again to return to its prime. 

Though chivalry has been destroyed by women, this does not mean that men automatically receive a “get out of jail free” card. Nope, not at all. Just because the weaker sex undermined a previous era of deference does not mean that men can simply do what they please and ignore civility and courtesy.

The fact is that it takes a real man to stand up for the weaker sex, and this type of man is now a legend: someone who lived long ago and has not been seen since. But there are many advocates of chivalry, and the institution is seeing signs of rebirth thanks to these men’s examples and noble heroism. I have met many such men, and without their leadership and spiritual insight, many would be lacking true friends and protectors. 

Can Chivalry be Revived?

The answer to that question is a resounding “yes!”; but it will take strong dedication, hard work, and a firm mindset in order to achieve the result. 

Next week, we’ll explore various examples and confirm that chivalry is reviving, while outlining what both young men and women can do to advocate its return.

 

[1] Bass, Josh. “Feminism to blame for the death of chivalry” The Daily Trojan (1 October 2007)

Tags: change, chivalry, femininity, feminism, Issues, men, values, women

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Expositional, Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.