It seems strange that such a simple custom as holding a door open for someone should cause as much trouble as it does. It started out as a highly gendered, benevolent sexist activity (men holding doors for women). Later, feminists began to reject the door holding custom along with many other benevolently sexist actions, leading many to refuse to allow a man to hold a door for them at all. More recently, door holding seems to be a relatively gender neutral activity, with women and men holding doors for each other, irrespective of gender. (Except in a dating context…)
So – common courtesy, or sexist holdover? I know almost nothing about etiquette, but the scientist part of me has come up with a rather different solution…
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