NEW YORK, NY: Poll Results: The New Dating Etiquette (11/20/09)

Following the post on November 11th on the New Dating Etiquette, I asked you crazy animals what you thought about chivalry and manners. Is chivalry d-e-d, Dead? Is old school chivalry alive and well with men holding doors and women washing floors? Or is chivalry a two-way street- with men and women taking care of each other?

While one of you clowns voted that women should essentially be barefoot in the kitchen (I know who you are...), the rest of you (88%) seem to be enlightened human beings. Your comments are both welcome and fascinating. I'd like to share some that you were good enough to share with me.:

"Chivalry / manners are a two way street. While many boys have clearly forgotten how to be a (forgive the term) gentleman, there are certainly quite a few women who have forgotten how to be ladies." - Felicia.

"Here here. I've found through experience that often the 'ladies first' guy is also pretty likely to think women are weak, not to mention being a host to all sorts of other old, ugly, perhaps hurtful notions about the way things are. Screw that!" - Loren

Following writing this post, my roommate Caroline also had an interesting comment. She enjoys when boys hold doors for her, but she's also just as likely to hold a door for one of them, or give up her seat on the subway. After some thought, she realized she's just as chivalrous as her dream man.

Caro's revelation was interesting in a sappy, chick flick kind of way. Take the movie "Pretty Woman." At the end of an otherwise logistically awkward love story, Richard Gere shows up in a limo with flowers shouting for "Princess Vivian." He climbs the tower (fire escape) to her apartment and rescues her from a life of questionable employment. He is chivalrous. However, when he asks her, "What happens when the prince rescues the fair maiden?" she responds, "She rescues him right back." Schmoltz aside, I think this is a good indicator of where chivalry is at today. We are in a position to rescue and be good to each other. Caroline's comment mirrors that, I think.

So there you have it, folks. We all seem to think chivalry should go both ways. And at the end of the day, the call for chivalry is akin to the call for manners, the need to be polite to one another, be conscientious of one another, and look to do the little things that make life grand.

Many thanks to those who responded!

Image courtesy of www.wikipedia.org