To those gentlemen who insist on the right to compliment a woman (on her appearance) in a professional setting (and become riled when she doesn't respond as you would like), a question occurs which may also serve to put this in context: Would you compliment a superior who is a womna, or a boss who is female? Or, are such compliments directed at subordinates, or those who report to you?
In my teens and twenties, such a gesture would have smacked of sexism, and, to my mind, benevolent sexism is still sexism.
However, as it happens, I am no longer in my teens or twenties, and, these days, if someone holds a door open for me, especially if they have seen that my hands are busy with bags, I thank them as a matter of course.
And, until the advent of Covid-19, I usually held the door open for the person behind me (irrespective of gender) if I preceded them.
When someone holds a door open for me, regardless of their gender or their age, I always say "thank you," as it is a nice thing for someone to do -- and while I don't expect it, I appreciate it when someone thanks me for holding a door open for them, too.
In my teens and twenties, such a gesture would have smacked of sexism, and, to my mind, benevolent sexism is still sexism.
However, as it happens, I am no longer in my teens or twenties, and, these days, if someone holds a door open for me, especially if they have seen that my hands are busy with bags, I thank them as a matter of course.
And, until the advent of Covid-19, I usually held the door open for the person behind me (irrespective of gender) if I preceded them.