wow, this thread was very interesting, there seems to be a lot of deep seated feelings and some that I happen to agree with. Carno, you make a good point, although your delivery was eye-catching
I will point out that I can see the point that, at a basic level when this concept of Chivalry began, the thought of getting sex from one gender did equate to "I should be nicer to this gender so I can get said sexual favors" Also, it was part of the culture... women were meant to be "taken care of" women were meant to "be held up, be coddled etc." We can't keep that part of the culture without having the other parts that kept Chivalry in place... which was the fact that women were not viewed as equals...
as for myself,
I don't expect anything special because I'm a woman. I do like common courtesy though and I myself try to be kind to everyone which is not related to gender.
I do think Chivalry is dead, at least, i don't feel it has much place in our society, I do think common courtesy seems to be on it's way out sometimes, but each of us can act differently to change that.
sweetpea