death+of+chivalry

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 =Death of Chivalry= I t has been quite a few years since chivalry went missing from today’s society, and we might have to face the fact that he might be dead. It is a sad truth, but we must live in reality. This was not an act of unfortunate faith, nor the result of a single person. Chivalry’s possible death was caused by us all. A generation where respect and empathy have been replaced by greed and selfishness. Some major contributors to his disappearance have been the feminist movement over the years, social media and self respect, and the change of a “normal society”. The image provided also tells an interesting story of its own, as women try to find chivalry in the world again.

Most of the young adult men in american society have thrown what it means to be a chivalrous gentleman out the window. Little things such as holding the door open for a woman, or giving up a seat in a full room are rare. This image was in no doubt created by a woman, reaching out to the men of today’s generation. Upon viewing the image’s headline “HAVE YOU SEEN HIM?”, we can immediately infer that someone is missing. But who? Its description of the missing man does not just simply say, or even explicitly state, ‘gentleman’ or ‘ chivalry’, but instead goes into deep detail of what exactly those terms mean. For example, “Opens doors for you, pulls out chairs,...” are qualities that describe a gentleman. Yet, sadly, these qualities are missing from the men of today. The actual image of the man is not like the simple, general image used else where, like on a restroom sign or locker room. From his silhouette you can tell he is intended to be an attractive man by the broad shoulders, and nicely groomed hair. These attributes described combined with the intended physical appearance make for the ideal man. Another important element of the missing person's image is the signature. The whole photo is highlighted in black and white except for the signature, “WOMAN KIND” That is meant to stand out for a reason. For one it is to emphasize femininity, for women are the ones who care most about this issue. The layout of the image is simple, yet it holds a complex meaning, and only those who notice its absence can relate to the yearning to having ‘him’ back.

There are contributing factors to the death of chivalry that come from our society. The feminist movement being one of the major ones. Or so that is what many men seem to believe and blame. A feminist is a woman who believes in women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes according to the google dictionary. Women over the years have been fighting to have equality in sports, the workplace, politics and many other places in life. While these efforts have been going successful, men have found this a reason, more rather an excuse, to eliminate chivalry. The point of feminism is to be a strong independent woman. They can do the same things a man can if given the chance, but not to mistake them as men. Men should still be expected to play their role as a man the same way women are still expected to play their role as the ladylike, motherly person. So why are men excused? Feminism is not alone to blame. Women and their actions are too. They have accepted men not to be the gentlemen that they claim to want. Posting images on social media, that appeal to men that depict them in a more sensual way. Men can not be motivated to treat a woman as a woman if a woman does not hold herself to that status and role herself. The last contributing factor to the death is what is considered normal and to be aspired for. The dream for most people would be having a nice job, a big house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, a few kids, a mom and dad. Now that tradition is no longer a tradition. It can now be considered a traditional; something that will never go out of style and will always be accepted. While that dream is accepted, there are also the ideas in society that are dreamed of. For example recently same sex marriage has just been made legal so that, whomever may marry their true loves. Or even having been married traditionally, but finding they were not the right one for any reason. So now there is a single parent wanting to raise their children in a loving environment. Both of these ideas are great, and widely accepted in today’s society, yet just like the traditional dream has its flaws- so do these ideas. It is not uncommon to see same-sex parents and an adopted child or having the single parent with two jobs playing both roles of the mom and dad. Those children are not getting the same childhood nor raised the same as the traditional child. According to CNS news children raised by same-sex parents are more likely to experience depression, encounter sexual molestation, and have lower levels of physical and mental health. Children of single parent homes grow up with a different example of how a relationship should be or not be, and even have to learn that on their own what it means to be in a “good” relationship. For example a young boy living with a single mom does not have that positive male role model to teach him the ways of a real man, even if that mother might be able to verbally tell him what it is. Either way our non traditional ways have brought our society a long way with equal rights for minorities and women, but have killed what was known as the chivalrous gentleman.

As of now we can hope chivalry can be reborn one day. Until then we must try to keep in mind what it means exactly to be chivalrous. Every woman deserves to have her chance at prince charming and knight in shining armor, that is if that's what she wants.

= Citations: = "Study: Children of Same-Sex 'Parents' Twice As Likely to Be Depressed." CNS News. N.p., 19 July 2016. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. <@http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/emily-blatter/study-children-same-sex-parents-twice-likely-be-depressed>. "Why Chivalry Is Dead, From A Man's Perspective." Elite Daily. N.p., 22 Nov. 2016. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. <__http://elitedaily.com/dating/sex/why-chivalry-is-dead-from-a-mans-perspective/__>. Carroll, Emily. "‘Chivalry Is Dead Because Feminism Killed It’." The Rider Chronicle. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2017. <__http://www.theriderchronicle.com/opinion/2015/02/13/chivalry-is-dead-because-feminism-killed-it/__>. YourTango. "5 Things To Know About Kids Who Grew Up With Single Parents." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. < __http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yourtango/5-things-to-know-about-kids-who-grew-up-with-single-parents_b_7904160.html__ >. Brozic, Ashley. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM. 2012. Distraction Magazine. By Alexandra Hurtado. 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 Jan. 2017. <@http://www.distractionmagazine.com/2012/11/15/is-chivalry-dead/>