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E-PrinceOver the past several years, we have seen the sexualization of gender expectations in both pop culture and academia. The effects of this phenomenon are most salient among young adults who, in this period of questioning and maturation, are most ...(back to the article)
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Brandon - here's a quick lesson on how to write. The phrase "are most desirous of" is awkward and superfluous. Instead, use pointed and direct phrases to engage the reader's attention. Also, your column doesn't make any sense, but fixing that would require a lot more time and effort on my part.
chivalry! speaking of nostalgia for things that weren't true... anybody remember mcginley's days as a shill for this guy:
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/...
P'08 and 'Nother '08, you sound like the same person. If you're really a senior, you must be done with your thesis, and you should have a little bit more time to think about what you're writing. Be nice.
this was a good column--thanks brandon!
Brandon, you write "I define chivalry as a male disposition of profound respect toward women, which is most importantly and courageously expressed in refusing to make inappropriate sexual advances and defending women from other men who do not abide by that code of respect." Though you fail to define "inappropriate sexual advances," I take it from later passages that you are referring to premarital sexual advances. But why do women, especially women who are "better than equals" need you to protect them from their own free will and decision making abilities? I would venture to say that I am a reasonably intelligent woman who understands the risks and benefits of premarital sex with my boyfriend. If I rationally weigh these risks and benefits and decide to have premarital sex, am I in need of your protection? No. Is my boyfriend being disrespectful by having consensual sex with me? Absolutely not. On the contrary, whether or not we have a piece of paper recognizing our commitment to one another, sex is full of love and fun and pleasure, and for two people who fully understand and accept the risks and benefits, it has none of the serious emotional downsides you imagine. Furthermore, your definition of courage is really weak. Perhaps if you have remained chaste for all these years, resisting the huge build-up of sexual desire requires a great deal of "courage" or at least will-power. But if you allowed yourself to have consensual sex, you might begin to think that it is not such a life-consuming act. There are many other personal challenges that require courage. Just to name a few, how about the courage it takes you to write a controversial column for all your peers to read and judge? How about the courage to choose a difficult, low-paying, but honorable service-oriented career? How about the courage to choose a difficult, yet more intellectually fulfilling major? How about the courage to serve in the military? For those of us who don't think that sex is such an enormously morally-charged or serious act, your definition of courage seems superficial and, frankly, silly.
Yes, very good point by the poster below: What do you mean by "inappropriate sexual advances" Brandon?
yes, let's go back to medieval conceptions of gender relations. that's sure to work well. also, we could ignore advances in modern sciences and ignore global warming, reinstate a monarch, dawn knightly armour, and storm in iraq on horseback.
can you suggest an approach to feminism that isn't paternalistic and medieval?
This piece defines chivalry as "profound respect toward women, which is most importantly and courageously expressed in refusing to make inappropriate sexual advances" - that's not chivalry, that's common human decency. Women deserve profound respect not because we are women, in need of defense "from other men who do not abide by that code of respect", but because we are human beings. It's not chivalry, it's common sense.
Chivalry "does not treat women as equals; it treats them as better than equals" - I'll take equality thanks, no pedestal for me.
Feminism has spurned chivalry, calling it "quaint, paternalistic and misogynistic", and surprisingly so, based on McGinley's definition of chivalry, which doesn't even make it to quaint or paternalistic - it barely stops short of awarding men "chivalry points" for not committing sexual assault. Do we really want to set the bar this low?
I couldn't get past "are most desirous of" either. It really hurt to read, and then re-read, and then re-read. Replacing that with a simple "care most" might be able to sort of make it work. I dunno, I'm probably a jerk, but I too got badly distracted by all the $2 words and flowery language. I came away thinking this is one of those exercises where you have a list of words and have to somehow work all of them into a piece of writing. If that was the assignment, well played. @ Sure... I prefer to don my knightly armour, it seems to work better that way ;) @ Woman... Is this a chastity screed or have there just been so many of those lately that you are assuming it is one? If it is a chastity screed, I'm on your team. Good points.
"If there were one word with which true manliness could be defined, it would have to be 'courage'."
Of course women know nothing of this courage word, it's located on the Y chromosome, you see.