Chivalry is dead you say
I can see that look of disapproval in your eyes when you look at guys who don’t give up their LRT seats for women on their feet.
I can see that frightful glare you give when you judge a man critically for not opening the door for me.
I hear the snicker and the gossip you whisper when a man doesn’t help a woman carry her bag.
The way you talk about men when they don’t give you special treatment just because of your short skirt and tall heels.
Chivalry is dead you say
I once saw an elderly man walking down the streets of Dapitan
Carrying two balikbayan boxes on his way to the nearby bus station
He was dragging his luggage with all his strength and determination despite his clear fatigue and exhaustion.
Another man passed by, this time will-built and young.
He was carrying a lady’s shoulder bag on his right arm and on his left was a girl leaning and enjoying the feeling of his toned arms as if it were made for her own satisfaction
Both didn’t bat an eyelash as they passed him by
And I saw that no one even bothered to ask “why”
Chivalry is dead you say
I don’t understand why we tolerate this paradoxical stigma of society
What was the reason for fighting for women’s rights if we don’t respect the purpose of our retaliation?
We gave birth to another form of discrimination, silently killing the cause of our revolution because of media’s obsession of misguided feminism constantly parading to little girls the entitlement given to women.
The privilege we have to be treated equally like any other while also having the opportunity to be as fragile as a doll, constantly needing security and what you call “chivalry.”
A word full of misconception passed on from generation to generation.
Once a word full of prestige for knights now is being shoved down the throats of men with strife
Chivalry is dead and I’m glad that it is.
I don’t need men opening doors for me because I have long hair and a red lipstick on.
I don’t need you to stand up and give up your seat for me because I’m wearing a dress and stilettos.
I don’t want you to look at me and think of me as someone to take care of because I have a pair of breasts and a vagina.
No, I am as capable as everyone else in this era
I appreciate the gesture of altruism and the concept of being a gentleman, but I will never think of it as mandatory for a man to do because they deserve equal treatment as much as I do.
