Its still 'ladies first'

Girl power's one thing, but the spicy fact remains that two thirds of women are only too happy to give way when a restaurant door or bill is involved.

In fact, the survey in this week's Bella magazine suggested that what women really, really want is equality when it suits them!

More than 90 per cent of the 500 women polled for Bella by NOP Solutions expressed appreciation for men who acted the gentleman, while over 60 per cent preferred the man to pay for drinks and meals.

And 63 per cent admitted that yes, they were firmly behind equality, but still placed value on old-fashioned male ideas of courtesy, such as walking nearest the road on a pavement or helping with heavy bags.

Rightly so, according to society author John Morgan, who reasons that women should be able to enjoy the best of both worlds - equality and good manners from men.

But the research also revealed considerable confusion amongst men. Half of the 500 surveyed expressed concern about courtesy being misinterpreted as sexist - and with the under-35s the figure rose to more than 60 per cent.

Despite this uncertainty, 90 per cent of men claimed they would continue to try to act the gentleman - although only one in three still thought that women should be saved first in an emergency.

Bella Editor-in-Chief Jackie Highe commented: "What women appear to be saying is that equality is all about recognition of their abilities - not a surrender of men's respect for their femininity. What's wrong with old-fashioned chilvary?"

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