GOOD manners can be the making of a modern woman, according to June Dally-Watkins.
Unfortunately, modern women are ignoring the advice of this matriarch of Australian deportment.
If the evidence screened on a recent popular reality television show is to be believed then certain young, modern, Australian women are not only completely lacking in good manners but they are also foul-mouthed, loud and uncultured.
Tell us: Do you think Aussie women are rude?(这里面对素质的争论绝对能让三皮和美登高之流彻底对他们的洋大人失望。莞尔。)
While the terms "yobette" and "ladette" have now passed into common usage, it's interesting to look at just how far the modern woman – regardless of age, race, status or income – has sunk in her attempt to "live in a man's world".
Many Australian women are now socially inept, particularly when it comes to manners – from the businesswoman who orders the hotel concierge to get them a cab "quick smart" to the moody shop assistant who rolls her eyes when asked for help and then turns to the next assistant and announces that she cannot wait to knock off.
A Bri*****ane businessman recently revealed that, when he opened a door for two professional women exiting an office, he received no acknowledgement only to have a glass door slammed in his face after following them out. Many men are now becoming reluctant to open doors for women because they merely get "huffed" at and pushed aside.
Women in the 40 to 60-year-old age bracket regard footpaths, aisles and malls as theirs alone. Put two or three of these women together and everyone must make way for them. In their world nothing comes between them and their conversation, certainly not manners or respect.
Fewer men now stand up on buses and trains to offer a seat – even to elderly women. I've heard of grannies accusing blokes of considering them "invalid" because they've been offered a seat.
Being an "invisible" man is a common male complaint. This occurs when rude women just push in and stand in front of men in a queue.
Unfortunately, it has become accepted that many modern women no longer care about politeness.
Maybe men are at fault. We are so unaccustomed to this new breed of woman that we don't know what to do.
Many modern women are totally self-reliant. They have rewarding careers and are financially independent. She has travelled across the globe, can afford to buy her own meals and is accustomed to a man asking her out just for the pleasure of her company.
Good manners displayed by men or women should serve to make interacting with other people a pleasant experience.
Modern women mistakenly seem to believe good manners are not something a modern man holds as an aspiration. Isn't it a pity more and more modern women grow up with an indifference to the niceties that used to be normal?
Ian Wallace is a Bri*****ane freelance writer.