Code of Chivalry

What is meant by chivalry?

Chivalry meant the art of being a knight at the service of a King or Queen. It gruadually came to mean the noble and courteous way for men to act in their relations with women.

What are some rules on how guys should treat girls or women?1

  1. Guys should never speak in a coarse way about girls or women, or refer to girls or women as sex objects. They must reverence them as persons created in the image and likeness of God.
  2. While it is great to laugh and have fun with your friends, guys should not be "goofy." Guys who are goofy are not respected, and people, especially girls and women, do not follow guys and men whom they do not respect.
  3. Guys should NEVER hit a girl under any circumstance.
  4. Guys should never yell and shout at girls.
  5. Not only should a guy not hurt a girl, he should protect her whenever she is threatened.
  6. When walking with a girl on the street, the guy should walk on the outside, nearer the cars. This is symbolic of his responsibility to take care of her.
  7. When he is on a date, the guy should pay for her food and entertainment.
  8. Girls should not call guys on the telephone - at least not until a committed relationship has developed. Guys must be the intiators, planning the dates and asking for the girl's company.
  9. Guys should open doors for girls and help them with their coats or their chairs in a restaurant. They should help the girls to carry any heavy load that she may be bearing.
  10. At formal occasions guys should stand when a woman leaves the room or the table and when she returns. This is a way of showing respect.
  11. When the time for honest courtship begins, the guy should show his love by kind words, listening, and respect. He should reserve kissing and fondling for marriage. Kissing and fondling easily lead to something more, and it becomes very difficult to stop. These actions prepare the body for conjugal relations, which are only good and holy in the Sacrament of Marriage.
  12. If you treat her like a lady, she will treat you like a man.
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1James Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, pp. 75-76