A Gentleman's View

Have you ever thought about why men are supposed to hold doors for ladies?  Or perhaps why men should always let the women go first?

Perhaps it descends from the call "Women and Children first."  In many life-threatening situations where perhaps escape routes or resources were limited, it was proclaimed that women and children would be the first evacuated.  This was frequently the case when a ship was sinking in the 19th and 20th centuries.  While the Titanic is perhaps the best known case,  the first documented case of "women and children first" was during the sinking of the HMS Birkenhead about 70 years prior to the Titanic.  With only one lifeboat available to the Navy men and soldiers aboard the Birkenhead, the captain ordered the wives and children onto the lifeboat while the remaining men waited for the boat to sink entirely.  While only a quarter of those men survived, the sinking was documented thoroughly and began the idea. 

The idea has never become a part of international maritime law.  And it seems that in fact it's not even the norm.  A study published by Uppsula University in Sweden looked at 18 shipwrecks from the mid 19th century as far up to as 2011.  It showed that men were far more likely to survive than women.  Additionally, crew members were more likely than anyone to survive (best swimmers in the group).

Why is this?  If "Women and Children first" was the accepted norm?  It never was, and even in places it was it didn't seem to help much.  Although it was actually ordered on all British ships, women had the smallest survival rate on British ships according to the study.  What the study doesn't mention is that specifically in the 18th century the amount of women on ships compared to men must've been quite drastic.  How many female sailors do you know?  I can't imagine that was a position many women would take, even today?

Of course more men would survive if it's only men on the vessel.  Additionally, this does nothing to show us why gentleman let ladies go before them in doorways, elevators, etc. 

The answer to that is extremely simple.  Gentlemen want a good view of the lady's backside of course.

Information used in article can be found here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/women-and-children-first-shipwreck-men-survive_n_1721777.html