"The more you act like a lady, the more he'll act like a gentleman."
The quote above was hung over the lockers at a middle school named Gregory-Lincoln Education Center for the Performing and Visual Arts. It was hung there for five years until Lisa Beckman wrote a Twitter post talking about how sexist and awful undertones of this quote. It was taken off the walls 10 hours later.
"Why would that be disgusting? I think its true in BOTH senses. If you act more like a gentleman, she will act more like a lady. This is to say- if you show nobility, more people will follow suit. I believe people are looking too much into this and CREATING an issue."
I agree with Lisa Beckman completely. I see what Michael is saying, but if that is the message they were trying to convey then why did they use the words lady and gentleman? Why did they have lady stated first and gentleman after? There are many other ways to get this point across that do not sound sexist, and so many quotes stating to show nobility more clearly. Even simply by saying "The more you act like a lady the more he'll act like a gentleman and the more you act like a gentleman the more she'll act like a lady". Just by doing that it is saying that both women and men should respect each other, rather than saying a woman should act a certain way and THEN men will treat her well. If a man is not a gentleman to me then is it my fault? do I need to accommodate men so they will treat me well and so I deserve to be treated well?
Each generation has a different idea of what a lady is and how a girl should act.for our generation does that look like accommodating men, dressing a certain way, being more passive, and fitting into that mold? Is that being true to yourself and being honest but still being respectful? The definition is very unclear, and most importantly is the definition of being a lady written around a woman's world or a man's?
It is frustrating to see that quote on the walls of a middle school. Girls that young are already hearing that the way they act should be dictated by men, and the way guys act should be dictated by women either. Every person should have respect and honor each other, live your life by your beliefs not to accommodate someone else's or to fit into the gender stereotypes circulating our world.
