ACTS OF CHIVALRY by men who help women to carry their shopping are actually signs of benevolent sexism, an academic study published in a US feminism journal has asserted.

The study, published by the Washington-based Society for the Psychology of Women, said “subjectively affectionate” behaviour is actually “condescending” – because it indicates that “women are perceived as weak and incompetent.”

Acts that are intended to be a sign of positive respect or affection on the part of men are deemed sexist – because traditionally polite behaviour like holding a door open for a woman, or offering to drive on a long journey, implies that a woman is unable to perform tasks on her own.

The paper was based on previous studies which said that when asked to keep a diary of behaviour they found sexist, women became more aware of sexist behaviour displayed against them.

College students in the US and Germany were asked to keep diaries – the first documenting sexist behaviour, and the second documenting more generic stress factors associated with college life.

Answering surveys afterwards, those who completed the ‘sexist’ diary concluded that when their attention had been drawn to chivalrous behaviour, they were more likely to find it as a form of well-meaning sexism.

It added:

Many men not only lack attention to such incidents but also are less likely to perceive sexist incidents as being discriminatory and potentially harmful for women.

The study was not singly critical of men, though, accepting that both men and women endorsed “modern sexist and neosexist beliefs” because they were not aware of the prevalence of sexism in their personal lives.

Poll: Is ‘chivalrous’ behaviour actually just sexism? >