Today, I came across a post on chivalrous masculinity and my first instinct was to scoff. It said something along the lines of we shouldn't emasculate men by telling them all expression of masculinity is bad, we should promote chivalrous masculinity. Men are stronger than women and should use their strength to protect women. Protect women from whom exactly? Bad men. And why are there so many bad men who harass and assault women? My main problem is this idea fails to problematize misogyny and the fact that society conditions men to be aggressive towards women. The size issue is a non-sequitur. Not all men are the same size, but small men don't walk around with the fear that larger men will grab them by the balls. Why does the strength differential become a factor only in male-female interactions. In a modern society, is it too unreasonable to expect to be able to walk around without fear of being harassed or assaulted by someone stronger than you? And I am not a fan of the word "protect" word here. It is a thin line between protecting someone and policing them, especially someone you don't have a duty of care for.
Another problem with "chivalrous masculinity" is it veers too close to "Nice Guy Syndrome"--men with underwhelming looks/personalities performing kindness to get with women. Just like with the assholes, there is a sense of entitlement.
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