This was my response to a post on one of my favorite blogs, The Sexist.
The best thing I've ever seen with "Dr. Laura" is the Queer Duck episode wherein she takes the place of the Twilight Gremlin on the plane wing. That truly embodies the essence of Dr. Laura.
Each person is responsible for his or her own conduct on his or her own behalf. Dignity is something to be determined and maintained by the individual for their own sake, not for the benefit of others. Certainly feminine dignity is the responsibility of the woman on behalf of herself, not on behalf of the patriarchy. Chivalry is a sexist concept anyway. It assumes that women are too weak and stupid to take care of or think for ourselves. This is opposed to courtesy, which is a concept that should apply to all of us. Opening the door for someone is a courtesy, for instance. One person does it as a kindness for another. But we women should not be standing around waiting for men to open doors for us, or do anything else for us either. We need to be doing what needs to be done for ourselves. Sure, Prince Charming may show up sometime. But in my experience, he's likely to be gay! ;-)
Each person is responsible for his or her own conduct on his or her own behalf. Dignity is something to be determined and maintained by the individual for their own sake, not for the benefit of others. Certainly feminine dignity is the responsibility of the woman on behalf of herself, not on behalf of the patriarchy. Chivalry is a sexist concept anyway. It assumes that women are too weak and stupid to take care of or think for ourselves. This is opposed to courtesy, which is a concept that should apply to all of us. Opening the door for someone is a courtesy, for instance. One person does it as a kindness for another. But we women should not be standing around waiting for men to open doors for us, or do anything else for us either. We need to be doing what needs to be done for ourselves. Sure, Prince Charming may show up sometime. But in my experience, he's likely to be gay! ;-)
