Another day, another Twitter debate that'll get you get you so riled up you'll want to throw your phone in the trash and move to a deserted island.
From a young age, I have been taught that it is just good manners to hold a door open for somebody. I'm a man, but I'll gladly hold a door open for a woman, a man, and, preferably, a dog.
However, am I being a massive sexist by doing this? Well, according to one Twitter user, I am.
Writing under the handle @UnbiasedKatie, one woman recently tweeted an instruction for all men out there that goes against everything I was taught as a child.
Kate wrote:
"Dear Men:
"Stop holding the door open for Women when entering a store. This implies that you believe Women are incapable of doing things for themselves & that you view them as incompetent.
"This can be compared to bucking the seat belt of a toddler / putting a leash on a dog."
However, rather than being met with praise and cheers by women and men who stand for feminism, Unbiased Katie was quickly shut down.
One Twitter user called Steven replied: "Dear Katie, you're wrong. Men DO NOT hold doors open for women because we think you're not able to think for yourselves, we hold the door open because we were taught manners as children, I was brought up by a wonderful woman who taught me to respect women and my elders."
And one female Twitter user replied saying: "Dear Katie: I'm a woman. I often hold doors open for people and like it when they offer me the same courtesy.
"I see it as courtesy and human decency, not patronizing. Please don't presume to speak for all women.
"Dear men: please ignore this rude woman."
One Twitter user stating that he was a father also replied to Katie, saying: "Dear Katie, I’ve just come back from a #bookshop on #BookshopDay and I was with my 11 year old daughter.
"I always hold the door open for women, men and kids as that’s how I was bought up and I’m passing those manners onto my children."
However, unimpressed with his reply, Katie - who describes herself as an "open-minded blogger" in her bio - replied to the dad saying: "Well David, You are bringing your daughter up with patriarchal ideals. Sincerely, Katie."
And that wasn't the only tweet Katie responded to.
When a woman by the name of Claire replied to Katie's original request, saying: "I always appreciate someone holding the door open for me, male or female. I always extend the same courtesy. It’s called manners."
Katie responded by saying: "Then you are suffering from internalized misogyny."
So, is holding the door open an archaic sexist gesture that is contributing to the misoginistic patriarchy? Or is it just good manners?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
