So yesterday I watched a man and woman leave the set with the woman struggling to get her arm through her coat. I went up to the couple and explained that during the 60’s, a man would never let a woman put on a coat by herself, he would have helped her. Did he know how to help her put on a coat? He said, with a rolling eye, that he did…but that his hands were full (with his coat, hat and drink…for some reason he was leaving a club, stealing their glass…but, that is another story). I informed him that men used to be able to do 2 things at once and that juggling all these things was, in fact, possible. As I should him how to do it, he mumbled that men used to do a lot for women, insinuating that we couldn’t do things for ourselves. I laughed and patted his arm and said, “Well, that was before we all emasculated you. I get it. You don’t know what to do. But, trust me…women like it!”
It used to be called manners. Putting the whole struggle for equal pay, equal respect aside…I miss those niceties. If I see anyone struggling, I ask if I can help. Is it so wrong to hold a door? Carry a heavy load? Not cuss like a sailor every time something doesn’t go your way?
Oh, one of my favorites was the man walking on the side of the sidewalk closest to traffic. In case a car was to jump the curb, his big strong body would absorb the blow and I would be safe. That’s the way it should be. Don’t you think? J
