Emancipation

How far is too far, when it comes to emancipation? And when is the line crossed between emancipation and the sheer lack of manners?

Imagine a situation: a girl and a boy, strangers, show up in front of a door at the same time; the door is closed and they both want to go through. What do you expect to happen next?
Seriously, I am curious, what do you expect to happen next?

I will just say, that I never walked in so many closing doors as in my first couple of weeks in Germany. By now I brace myself for the coming danger and am sometimes pleasantly surprised, but I don't expect anything, anything. However, in Germany it is not the unwillingness to treat girls with a touch of good-old manners. I dare say that emancipation just went too far.

I think that in our times men feel insecure: they do not know how to treat those emancipated Helgas. Will they be accused of overprotectiveness if they want to walk a girl home? Will they be stung with an angry look if they let a girl pass in the doorway first? Will there be an embarrassed silence if they help a girl to put on her jacket?
But that it is neither entirely the girls fault. Back in the times of Scarlet O'Hara, all was simple and clear - everyone knew their role, had a ready response for small and grand gestures. But today? A man holding a girl's jacket stretched out in mid-air reminds rather of a matador than a well-bread gentleman. Putting on a stretched out jacket is no easy task either, believe me, it has to be learnt. But what if it wasn't learnt? A nervous giggle or a small tease will help to cover the lack of knowledge. A girl can always say: "oh, don't be silly, it is the 21st century!", grab the jacket and put it on herself. And the gentleman will remember. Who wouldn't if the pride was hurt? He will remember and make sure not to help any girl to any damn jacket in the future.
Oh, what a perfect world we have cooked for ourselves - a world where men and women are equal in all.

But was savoir-vivre about lack of equality, or to make the life more pleasant with the little gestures that have now been forgotten?