‘Chivalry’ assignment at Texas school told girls to dress for men, clean after them
An assignment at a Texas school instructed girls to dress in a “feminine manner to please the men” and “obey any reasonable request of a male,” reports say.
The high school assignment on medieval “chivalry” was removed by Shallowater Independent School District after criticism from parents, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported.
“This assignment has been reviewed, and despite its historical context, it does not reflect our district and community values,” Shallowater ISD told the newspaper. “The matter has been addressed with the teacher, and the assignment was removed.”
Brandi D. Addison Davis, a freelance reporter at The Dallas Morning News, tweeted a photo of the assignment for girls.
The instructions for the one-day assignment said “ladies in class will demonstrate to the school how the code of chivalry and standards set in the medieval concept of courtly love carries over into the modern day.”
“All ladies deemed worthy of the honor by the gentlemen will receive 10 points for every signature at the end of the day,” the assignment said. “Fathers and other adult males may insist on following the rules into the evening and may report to the judges.”
A few other instructions included:
• Ladies must address all men respectfully by title, with a lowered head and curtsy.
• Ladies must never criticize a male.
• Ladies must cook (preferably not buy) something for the gentlemen in their class.
• Ladies must walk behind men or walk daintily, as if their feet were bound.
• Outside the classroom, ladies cannot show intellectual superiority if it would offend the men around them.
• Ladies should clean up after the men.
Addison Davis also obtained a photo of the assignment for boys. Here’s how it compares.
Shallowater is city of about 2,500 just northwest of Lubbock.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 4:39 PM with the headline "‘Chivalry’ assignment at Texas school told girls to dress for men, clean after them."