When’s the last time a man actually asked if you needed help assisting with the door as you carried in five bags of groceries, or let you go first off the elevator? Right, it’s been too long. It seems the world of classy gentlemen have now shriveled down to just, well, men.

I can’t help but notice that this behavior is somewhat our fault ladies. Yes, we have been becoming more independent and driven, and we’re basically Wonder Woman in all areas of our life. But let’s take a moment to actually be kind to the men that notice a woman is in the room and want to be chivalrous. We can’t expect our knight in shining armor if we make him fall off the horse he came to pick us up in.

Gender roles have been changing in relationships a lot more often too. Women are asking men out, taking them out on dates and showering them in gifts. We’re beginning to spoil them as much as they do us. Call me old-fashioned but well shit, I am. It’s cool that women are becoming more dominant in their relationships but don’t expect me to kneel on one knee now. I respect the women that do though. I just have a different vision of how my next relationship will be. I picture a not-so-perfect gentleman but good enough to my standards where he loves to surprise me, is romantic, and funny.

Then there’s the challenge of actually teaching men how to be gentlemen because they weren’t taught growing up. I sometimes wonder, do you treat your mother like this? Or would you want someone to not show this level of respect to your daughter or sister? And of course, there’s the ladies that didn’t learn etiquette growing up which is another problem. We shouldn’t expect men to do everything for us and not show a lick of gratitude. Learn to appreciate the time and effort that they put into making us happy. (The ones that are actually fully committed to you and only you) We can’t live the lives of city girls forever.

At the end of the day, men still want to feel appreciated and wanted when it comes down to being involved in our lives. Let them be dominant sometimes and be the man of the house. It’s okay to still have our feminine energy and be a strong woman too, I’m not knocking that. It’s also okay to be a little ghetto but still be a classy, well-respected lady as well. But come on, girl we gotta do better. And fellas, I think my car door is waiting for you to so handsomely open it.

Thank you.