White knights set back equality for the genders

[Lizzie Poppet]

77. Not all PEOPLE can "handle their own situations."

It depends, obviously, on both the person and the situation. The concept that (all) women need a protector from physical threat has produced some horrible sociological ramifications...but it also derived from some general truths about physics and biology. Generally speaking, smaller, physically weaker people are vulnerable to aggression from larger, stronger ones. Also generally speaking, women tend to be smaller and weaker than men...that's undeniable biological truth. Unless the smaller, weaker person has some method of neutralizing that advantage on their own (such as a weapon and the expertise to use it), they legitimately can't "handle their own situation." They need assistance...and that assistance is one reason social species like H. sapiens are so successful.

The solution isn't to repudiate the idea of people sometimes needing protection and assistance, it's to recognize that such situations are situational and that that need does not apply elsewhere (and should not be allowed an inappropriate influence on how society is structured).