Daily Express

Sorry ladies...chivalry is dead!

- By Jan Disley

THE romantic age of the quintessen­tial British gentleman is over, a survey claims.

In gloomy news with St Valentine’s Day just around the corner, almost eight in 10 women say today’s chaps fail to show the respect and common courtesy they could have expected in the past.

To the archetypal gentlemen of the last century – like 007 Roger Moore and film heartthrob­s Cary Grant and David Niven – chivalry came naturally.

But a third of single women say modern males no longer do simple things like open doors or pull out chairs for their partners.

Another 30 per cent claim men have stopped sending flowers. And the same number say most males would not offer them their jacket if it was chilly outside.

Checking

Other chivalrous acts slowly dying out, according to female respondent­s, include checking a woman returned home safe after a date, a thing of the past, say 27 per cent, and paying for a taxi home, no longer done say 24 per cent.

The nationwide study of 2,000 singletons was carried out by Manchester’s Midland Hotel.

It found almost half of women believe there is nothing wrong with old-fashioned romance and would still like to be swept off their feet.

Almost a third believe a man should still take charge on a date. But males are letting the side down with 22 per cent of women saying they do not listen during dates, and a fifth saying the skinflints who take them out cannot be relied on to pay for dinner.

Women still like to be asked on a traditiona­l night out however and a restaurant remains the number one venue, with 65 per cent describing it as the best location for a first date. The poll found 27 per cent blame sexual equality for killing romance, while 26 per cent say dating apps have changed romance.

Jens Hallman, general manager of the Midland Hotel, said: “It’s sad to see from this research how many females believe chivalry is dead in the modern age. The research shows as many as 36 per cent of women would like to be swept off their feet, so maybe this is a lesson to all the

SO IS IT A GOOD THING OR BAD?

it’s like. Certainly there are some women who are rude to men who behave politely towards them.

But there is something inherent in the relationsh­ip between the sexes that means males should treat females with a little politesse...like that perfect gentleman Bertie Wooster. men out there looking to woo a special lady this Valentine’s Day.

“There’s nothing wrong with a bit of old-fashioned romance.” MEN affording special considerat­ions to women is a strange mixture of sweet intentions and patronisin­g alpha male instinct.

Even simple things like opening a door or paying in restaurant­s are examples of “benevolent sexism”.

Today’s women are CEOs, prime ministers, leaders Retrieve dropped items. Give up your seat. Introduce her to people.

Make sure she gets home safely.

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Handsome to be sure, but Roger Moore also had fine manners as shown in this 1965 clip from The Saint
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in their fields, capable of changing the world. So we men must stop treating them as weak.The problem is people
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