Get On the Bus
I seem to spend most of my life idly: waiting for the bus. And when one is boarding a commuter bus, it is apparently customary to step aside to allow members of the female gender to board ahead of you, if you are male. Having spent the majority of my life in engaged in such idleness, i am well acquainted with this traditional practice. Generally, I regard all the trappings of what is commonly referred to as "chivalry" to be actually a form of patriarchy: a set of subtle methods to subjugate women and deprive them of their agency. However, I do typically assent to the practice of "ladies first," simply to avoid an inconvenient transgression of minor social mores. But lately, when i'm preparing to board the bus and entirely willing to adhere to traditional practice, women will just walk right in front of me, as individuals or in groups, coming from all directions and usurping my place in line as if they enjoyed a sense of entitlement to public transportation. Is this where our society is headed? And does chivalric tradition still apply if the woman in question is a lesbian?
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