Who killed chivalry? The answer is obvious: doctrinaire feminists.


But an intriguing piece on the American Thinker proposes that the old chivalry of good manners has been replaced by a new kind of chivalry.


What is it like? Well, here’s a quote from the article:


“Like the old chivalry, the new version involves social codes and social pressure to enforce them, but also much, much more.  The new chivalry has also been written into law; it is embodied by affirmative-action and set-aside programs that favor women, and by legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which now serves as a vehicle through which to empower and fund feminist groups. We see the new chivalry in police domestic violence procedures that automatically place the onus on men and in family courts that are biased against them.


“Most of all, though, there are the aforementioned social codes.  The new chivalry is all around us, only, it has become so much a part of the fabric of the culture that many of us don’t even sense it.  It’s manifested in the commercials that will portray men but never women as buffoons, and in a media and popular culture that use violence against men to evoke laughs while sanctimoniously admonishing against the acceptance of same against women. 


“We also see it in demeaning jokes, sentiments and symbols (such as the ‘All Men Are Bastards’ kitchen knife block sold online) that are always XY-specific.  What is often far less transparent is the constant carrying of water for feminist causes, a practice that runs the gamut from overt advocacy to the most subtle forms of shilling.  And lest you wonder why I label this “the new chivalry,” be not bemused.  For all the incessant blather about equality, despite all the preaching and posturing and perturbation to tradition, I can hear a little voice in the background, whispering, ever so softly, like butterfly wings, ‘Take it easy on her . . . she’s only a girl.'”    


The new chivalry is behind the blind portrayal as Jessica Lynch as being more heroic than she was or the forced acceptance of women by sports teams that do not want them. The American Thinker suggests that the new chivalry might even help put Hillary in the White House:


“Ominously, we may soon pay a terrible price for the embrace of this destructive obsession.  There are some men who have intimated that they would be disposed to vote for Hillary Clinton for president because ‘It’s time to elect a woman,’ an imperative that ranks right up there with getting Zitkala-Sa into history books.  Well, that certainly would bring self-sacrifice to a new level.  But it’s a mighty high price to pay for the new chivalry.”