I’m just going to throw it right out there…chivalry is dead. Vanished, obsolete, gone. At least, that is my interpretation of this waning social phenomenon.

I have never been one who was bitter about this until now. Normally something like this would not bother me, but my patience has worn thin. It is as if males are not aware of what courteous behavior is anymore. This is quite a tragic fact, if you ask me.

I literally cannot remember the last time I saw a guy on campus or around town open a door for me or any other woman for that matter. I have noticed it seems to be primarily with men from my own generation who are the main culprits. Older generations of men seem to have it down to an art form.

Where did it get lost and why? What are they so afraid of? Are men afraid that it makes them look weak or that the girl may get the wrong message? Or is it simply a self-absorption that plagues our generation’s males?

Well, let me clear things up—opening a door for women is not a lifelong commitment or a marriage proposal. It is simply polite, respectful and in my humble opinion, manly.

Comedian Dave Chappelle jokes that chivalry is dead because “women killed it.” That is just ridiculous. Feminism and the women’s rights movement have not ended chivalry or curbed women’s appreciation for a kind gesture. Yes, feminism has changed many things about being a woman in society, but it does not call for a complete abandonment of manners.

Sure, women are much more independent nowadays than they have ever been. But despite that, a considerate Y chromosome has always been and will forever be appreciated and respected in the eyes of a woman.

If chivalry, is however, still alive, it is most definitely a rarity. So gentlemen, please, next time you see a woman coming through a door with her hands full, or not, give her a refreshing glimpse of hope and open the door for her or offer to carry something. I promise you, it will not make you look feminine.

If anything, do it to show off those muscles that you have been working so hard at sculpting in the gym.

Be a testosterone-filled humanoid to your heart’s content around your “bros,” but when you are around a woman, step it up and be that dignified fellow that women are convinced is extinct. Otherwise, R.I.P. chivalry. Carry on.