Good morning, everyone! I hope your week is going well 🙂

I apologize for this getting out a little bit later than usual. This week is a busy one for me as it is the general assembly of a chivalric organization to which I belong. This organization means a lot to me because I believe in the principles of chivalry and knightly ideals. Someday I hope to blog more about the call to knighthood for both men and women and how striving for knightly behavior in daily life can  benefit  our society.

Whenever our general assembly rolls around I find myself much more attentive and thoughtful towards my role in this organization as both a knight and a woman. Women are strong creatures. ” Fight like a girl.” should refer to the incredible inner strength, wisdom, and power that is unique to the feminine quality. I was born in the 1960’s and grew up during the 1970’s. I saw many of the struggles of women trying to earn an equal place in society play first hand. I am so grateful to the brave women, just a few years older than myself, who helped make things easier for me when I entered college and the work force. Things are not perfect in the 21st century but they have come a long way since I was a young girl.

One misconception I had as I was growing up was that in order to be a modern woman I had to act like a man. You know, be tough and not show emotions and all that good stuff. Now, as an adult I say ‘ Vive la difference!”  Women are powerful because of their feminine qualities not in spite of them. Amazingly, I can feel more empowered when a man stands up when I enter a room or opens the door for me than I ever could trying to imitate their masculine qualities. I used to think such dated gestures as opening the door for a lady were showing me that I was weak and needed assistance in even the most mundane of tasks .Now I see these gestures as showing respect, honor, and even a little bit of awe for women. It is important to note that true chivalry supports women in all aspects of life and modern knights welcome gender equality. Chivalry is wise enough to realize that equal does not always mean the same while honoring the unique strengths of both masculine and feminine characteristics.

Being a single woman I know I can take care of myself. I have a home and I career both of which I manage on my own. I have an inner strength that has gotten my through difficult phases of my life. With all my independence I still like being treated like a lady.

For those of you who are interested, I have a little experiment/challenge for you this week. Most of my Thursday readers are single people, however, it is an experiment that anyone, married or single, would benefit from.

The Challenge

All my single lady readers: I would like you to think of all the ways in which you are strong, beautiful, and uniquely feminine. Try using your feminine charms, not to manipulate those around you for selfish pursuits or to merely get a man to do your bidding, but to positively influence the environments and situations in which you find yourself in daily.  Use your intuition and other female strengths to bring fresh perspectives to your endeavors. ” Fight like a girl” not with coarse language, vulgarity, or brute force, but with wisdom and eloquence for things that are worth fighting for.

My single gentleman readers: I challenge you to act chivalrous in all your undertakings. Some women may be taken aback that you are holding the door for them or standing when they enter a room. a few may not except your gestures. I guarantee if you do it often enough you will start to see sparks of appreciation as the women in your life start to realize you see them as people of value and worth. You should use common sense at work and other social settings as it may just be plain weird and inappropriate to walk up to your boss and pull out her chair before she addresses a group of your colleagues but I will trust your judgement. Many times just the appropriate manner and volume of speech is  a welcome bit of etiquette in the work place.   I also challenge my gentleman readers to realize that every woman, no matter how rough around the edges, promiscuous, or vulgar they may be, is somebody’s baby girl. The weak and vulnerable need help seeing their true nature. It is not your job to save every sparrow with a broken wing but by being chivalrous you help put an end to the abuse and objectification that is a cause of so much pain in our society.

Being a somewhat flawed human I have fallen short of my own knightly and feminine ideals many times. I pick myself up and try again. Slowly, very slowly, I am transforming into the person I was meant to be. Being a knight, the battle with myself is my biggest battle of all and to win I am going to ” fight like a girl! ”

As always, I would love to hear from you! Let me know your thoughts on chivalry, manners, or any other related topic.

Thanks for stopping by the blog!

Until next time,

Laura