| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Blogroll Me!
Contact Me
Skin the Site!
July 2006
June 2006
February 2006
July 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
By Category
Master Index
I Really Want It...
What In the Hell Is This?
With Much Love and Sorrow...
Life Rolls On...
Twelve Days?
Allah Egg
The Down Side of Anger
Pings Closed
Nothing Specific
I love to people watch and one of my favorite things to watch for is manners. Attack of the Pig People an article on CBS News is entertaining especially when he shares his encounter with Pig Man.
A few years ago I dated a "southern gentleman". This guy was the big on manners...way too big. On stairwells going up, he had to be behind, going down, he had to be in front. He would actually get irritated if I touched a door we were going through. On the street of course he had to walk curbside. All of this was very touching and cute at first...until you chastise me for not following your rules. Dear Daniel didn't last long.
So Daniel is the one that actually started to peek my interest with some manners. So being the stubborn Sicilian that I am...during this relationship I started on a mission to open doors for men. Why not?
This is a practice I've not given up...I've had way too much fun with it. Here is some of my unscientific research findings and the findings differ on how I am dressed. This is my findings if I'm wearing slacks or jeans:
Men approximately over 50 will not let me hold the door open for them, they will hold the door until I go through. These men will hold the door open and wait for me, even if I'm still 10-15' away. They always acknowledge my "thank you".
Men approximately 30-50 will go through the open and door and say "thank you". These men will hold the door open for me if they approach it first and I'm close by. They acknowledge my "thank you" maybe 50% of the time.
Men 25 and younger will not hold a door and almost seem to expect if you are there first you hold the door, but not if it's them. Never a "thank you".
If I'm wearing a dress or short skirt:
Men over 50 will hold the door, will not enter first. Always acknowledge my "thank you" and will initiate small talk.
Men 30-50 will offer to take the door I'm holding and will say "thank you" if I encourage them to go on in. Some will actually just stand there like they are waiting to recall some important bit of information, but it's not quite processing. They usually always look at my legs as they pass through, wondering what they might have forgotten.
Men 25 and younger will always breeze on through and I might get a "thanks" half of the time.
Of course everything is subjective to the length of the dress. Shorts for some reason ellicits the same response as pants. Any men have any ideas on why?
This might be obvious, but most straight men (in a relationship or not) appreciate nice legs. Probably the reason for the different responses based on what you're wearing. Of course, we probably need to see the legs in question to validate this assumption. ;-)
As for the difference between age groups, it is how they were brought up. The younger ones that seem to be "rude" sometimes were brought up by the boomers who let them do whatever they want. I don't mean all of them, but a huge proportion anyway. I was raised by a couple of boomers, but they were a little old school so manners were not an option. I try not to take it to the extreme though. I won't refuse to go through a door that a woman holds open for me.
Posted by: phil at August 21, 2003 09:44 AMI see I should have read further. We're in agreement. That's what I see happening around me, too. Could this be peculiar to the Mid-West?
Posted by: Buffy at August 21, 2003 03:06 PMThe difference in ages is not surprising. The young ones still think the world revolves around them.
As to the difference between slacks and skirts, I think it's not even a conscious thing. When a man sees a woman who's dressed like a woman (for lack of a better phrase. I mean, you don't see too many guys in skirts unless you live in San Francisco) they instinctively respond to her (like their momma taught 'em).
When a woman wears slacks (or shorts) it's not an instinctive reaction and it takes a more conscious decision on their part on how to act.
I'm a door holder myself (tips his hat), but then again I'm in that middle group (solidly).
Posted by: LittleA at August 21, 2003 06:10 PMYou know, it simply never occurred to me that a "thank you" for holding a door required more than a nod of the head.
Interesting.
Posted by: Dean Esmay at August 23, 2003 03:09 AM