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I everybody.
This post is no big deal but it just got me thinking about double standards between men and women.
Not sure if this is the right genre for this post , but here goes anyway.
Ladies first ?
The other day when I arrived at work a female colleague held the door open for me to walk through first as she arrived to the door first.
So I did walk through first and thanked her.
Anyway I then had a few male colleagues slating me for not being a gentleman and allowing her to go first as it was being disrepectful.
I myself felt she was just being polite by holding the the door open as I would've done the same if I was first to the door.
In this day and age why shouldn't a lady be allowed to hold the door open for somebody else , I think it was a wonderful gesture and shows she has manners and respect for other people. I get the immpression that some people think men have to be respectful towards women but women are allowed to be disrespectful to men.

your opinions please.
Should've I let her go first? Was I being disrespectful. Is it just being polite for a woman to hold open doors for guy? Should I have run ahead and insisted on holding open the door for her to go first?

I've had these hilarious incidents where I've held the door open for a guy, he's refused to go through it and insisted I go through because I'm a gal and he stands there awkwardly holding the door open while a queue forms while we sort this out. So then I creep past, trying not to brush him against him because he's now blocking the door that he's insisted on holding open, so that his sense of chivalry isn't injured and we can all get on with our lives.

She showed you manners. You showed her manners by appreciating and thanking her for the considerate gesture. The only disrespectful people here are the time wasters criticising you instead of doing something useful like their jobs. I'm not sure if women should start walking on the outside of pavements to protect their partners from oncoming cars and horse drawn carriages (a tradition and habit my father only recently explained to me) but this kind of day to day chivalry must surely be made available to both men and women, especially at rush hour.

I'm surprised that your colleagues said that. They may just have been teasing or stirring up trouble for the sake of it, because I can't really believe in this day and age that anyone thinks that women should go through doors before men. I'm a woman, and I certainly don't think that. In fact, I would find those sort of ideas rather troubling. We're all people, and we all deserve equal respect and consideration regardless of gender.

I agree with the others - I appreciate when a man holds the door open for me, but I equally appreciate it when a woman holds a door open for me. It's just manners, women are allowed to open doors now.

As above! I think the only "double standards" are the ones invented by your colleagues, trying to wind you up.

Ironside, you're right when you say It's all about manners and respect - we're allowed to hold doors open for each other now, whether we're male, female or guinea pigs.

But one thing that gets right up my nose (and all my friends agree with me) is when I walk through a door and hold it open for the next person, and they don't even glance in my direction, let alone thank me. THAT is arrogance and downright bad manners, and there is no excuse. Even so - sadly, we're not allowed to whack them with a damp pillow.

I'm a bit flabbergasted, too. Also a woman, and am happy to hold doors open for men, or to have doors held for me. Whoever gets there first, has free hands, etc. does the honours! Would your friends also expect you to spread your coat over any nearby puddles, lest the lady get her feet wet?