Feminism or Chivalry?

I have always been the type of girl who always stood up for the equal rights of women and fumed at any type of gender discrimination. But sometimes when I share my point of view to some people, they act like I've told them I practice black magic or something. Then they start chanting, "Feminist! Feminist!"

Now the being called a feminist always makes me cringe but there is no good reason why I should though. It merely means, " the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men." which I do believe in wholeheartedly. So then I wondered, why do I still hesitate to declare that I am a feminist?

Modern Feminism, I find is totally warped. These days when you picture a feminist, the images that pop up into your head are absurd. Eg. Radicals, Lesbian dykes. Feminism actually made a lot of sense in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century when women couldn't vote, didn't have property rights and were owned by their husbands.

Feminism has such a negative connotation now which is why I avoid talking about it to people. If I do, they either get intimidated or turned off. Although I do believe women should have the same rights as men, there will always be differences between men and women. For one thing men have evolved to be physically taller and stronger than women because they were hunting for food while women reared the children. Therefore it is unacceptable for a man to beat up a woman.
I guess I could be called somewhat of a hypocrite too since I believe in chivalry too. :D Chivalry as in men holding the door open for the lady. Letting the lady have your seat if she is standing. So you see, I am somewhat confused about where I stand....Basically I would say that I want the guy to always hold the door open for me, but at the same time always know that I can open it myself If I wanted to. :p Fair enough eh?

It can be quite confusing to be a man in today's society, what with all the empowered women traipsing around demanding their independence, while chastising them for not being courteous enough to open doors for them. A general rule of thumb to keep in mind when dealing with the fairer (not weaker) sex: treat them as you would want them to treat you. Don't baby her or treat her like a child, simply be there for her as you would a good friend and everything should be fine.