Can Gentlemen Exist Without Ladies?

I have been blessed with two little boys.  They are the greatest joy of my life, and also the greatest responsibility I feel day in and day out.  Tonight, the wife and I had a very interesting discussion that stuck in my head.

She was talking about a coworker of hers who is a little older and in her words, “a true gentleman”.  He instinctively opens doors for women, offers to carry their luggage, and is courteous in a sincere and open way.  She tells him constantly, “Your parents did an amazing job of raising you.”

So I ask her, “Would you want to raise our sons as gentlemen?”

She says yes.  Of course.

I then ask, “Do you think the mother’s of baby girls will raise them to be ladies?”

She wanted to say, “Yes, of course!” and I could see the words die on her lips.  She literally couldn’t answer for a few minutes.  We went through all of our friends and acquaintances and their wives.  These are women we both like a great deal — smart, funny, friendly, great women in every way.  But not one could be called a “lady”, whatever that term means.

In fact, to call a woman a “lady” in that context seemed to be… almost insulting in some strange way.  Must be the culture we live in today.

And neither of us can think of a single set of parents of little girls who would raise them to be “ladies”.

So… suppose we did raise our boys to be gentlemen.  Could they be gentlemen if there are no ladies?

-TS

About these ads