21ST CENTURY MOTHERING: I Don’t Want My Preschooler to Be a ‘Gentleman.’ “Start to complain about your preschooler adopting gentlemanly behavior and you quickly discover how out of step you are with the rest of the world. Almost everyone I mention it to thinks it’s lovely and sweet. What’s the harm in teaching little boys to respect little girls?”

UPDATE: A reader emails:

Notice that the author, the teacher, and the female commentators, don’t expect the little girls to do anything in return. And we get the pay myth right away. Her objection isn’t her son is being taken advantage of but it’s not feminist doctrine. I’d suggest therapy but that’s probably part of the problem.

We are doomed as a civilization….

Well, in for a rough patch, anyway. But yes. Chivalry was part of a system, in which expectations were imposed on women and girls, as well as boys and men.