Femininity and masculinity

     In the book Boy meets Girl, (which I highly recommend btw) Joshua Harris titles one chapter: "If boys would be men would girls be ladies?"
   When a guy acts like a gentleman, I find that so appealing. When I see a guy open the door for his sister, or help his mom carry something in the house.... I find that attractive. The fact that he respects his female family members tells me a lot about him. And even if I don't see that guy as anything more then a friend, I think to myself, "Someday, some really lucky girl is going to marry him and he is going to treat her right." And that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :]
   I always feel blessed when a gentleman opens the door for me. I always make a point of saying thank you. I feel bad when girls don't appreciate it, or take it offensively. As if the gentleman is implying that they are too weak to do it themselves. I feel like those girls are a disgrace to the female persuasion.
   One thing that I especially notice is when a guy is a leader. I first noticed it when I went to my first dance. It was a home school dance when I was 13. The first guy who asked me to dance was the definition of a gentleman. He boldly walked up to me help out his hand and asked "Would you like to dance with me?" I was taken off guard. He was so polite and bold yet not intrusive at all. He did a slight bow to me when he asked. No guy had ever treated me like that before. I stammered out "Sure!" And he firmly but gently took my hand and lead me out to the dance floor. He taught me a few swing dance moves, and when the song was over he lead me by my hand off the dance floor, looked me in the eyes and said "It was a privilege to dance with you. Thank you very much." I never talked to him again nor do I remember his name, but I will always remember that he is the first guy who ever treated me like a lady.
   Now I know a lot of guys who are gentlemen. I consider a lot of them like brothers. But a common thing I find in them is a lack of leading skills. I know some of them don't step up and lead because they are afraid a girl might get the wrong idea. And I'm glad they take that into consideration, but I'm sad that that is even a problem. I much prefer to follow, but if someone doesn't lead, I will step up. Just because that's something that needs to be done.
   But it's not just the boys who need to be gentleman. Girls need to be ladies. They need to rejoice in their femininity! Some girls I know wear T-shirts and jeans all the time in an effort to be modest. I think it's neat that they want to dress modestly, but you can dress femininely and modestly at the same time! And honestly.... I love being feminine. I don't see why more girls don't enjoy it! They say "I don't want to be treated like I'm the weaker sex." Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!? Ugh... Some people wonder why I like Jane Austen movies and books. It's because in them, each gender acts how they are supposed to. No woman turns up her nose as a gentleman opening the door for her. Plus the ladies get to wear really pretty dresses that I wish were still in style. ;)
   I'm not entirely sure how to act like a lady in every situation, but I'm working on it.

~Melody