The days of damsel in distress is long gone. Girls today now pride themselves as independent beings who don’t need a man in their lives to feel complete. Years of fighting for “equality” has molded us into these self-functioning creatures who think and can actually rule the world. Of course there are still those who revel in being damsels, preferring to be always helped and saved by a man than to lift their dainty fingers and exert even the smallest of efforts.

But we, the general women population, isn’t about to let these forever damsels cloud over our shine. I have observed one downside to the Girl Power thinking, however. It is what I call The Gentleman Extinction.

It happened thrice last week: a guy who let me pass through the lobby first on our way to the restrooms complete with the “you first” hand gesture; a guy who instinctively reached out to open the door when he saw me approaching even before I reached out for it; and a guy who deliberately held the door open for me after I badge in.

All through this, I was fighting the urge to tell them “No, you first” or “Sorry!” or “It’s OK, I can manage” than just giving them the “Thank you!” that they deserve.

My subconscious was so busy asserting my independence as a woman that I forgot to let them be the gentlemen that they are. We often think that these type of men are a dying breed but could we, the independent women of the world, have contributed to this extinction?

With all the gender equality movement happening around us, it is so easy to overlook or even to fully misinterpret their core message. Getting help from a man does not make a woman weak. Being a feminist does not mean you are a man hater. Oftentimes, men are vilified by these extreme “feminist” conversations. If so, how are we, the women of the now, any different from those other men who oppressed women from centuries past?