It is not sexist to hold open a door for a pregnant woman

It would technically be sexist if you hold the door for her only because she is a pregnant woman. Of course, it's good manners to hold the door for everyone and anyone.

Would the door have been held open for anyone? Or only because a pregnant woman was walking through?

What if you were willing to hold the door open for anyone pregnant, regardless of their gender?

it is not necessarily sexist. since intent, motivation, and reasoning are all relevant, and you have provided none of them, it is impossible to state for sure.

I think what Ben said is what I was getting at. It is just coincidence that every pregnant person you meet will be female, so holding a door open for a pregnant woman is equivalent to holding a door open for a pregnant person.

So this claim should read: "It is not pregnantist to hold open a door for a pregnant person."?

I've seen "Mister Mom" with Arnold Schwarzeneeger, if the Governator can be pregnant then surely other men can as well.

Yes, I just thought the other way read better.

I'm with BB & Vynce. I think it is good manners to hold the door open for anyone, especially someone who may be physically compromised. Whether it is sexist or not is entirely dependent on an individual's motivation.

I have have had men snicker when I have held a door open for them or refuse to go through it (believe it or not). Their behavior strikes me as decidedly sexist.

hear hear, Pru.

Anon, had you claimed "It is not sexist to have a policy of holding open a door for pregnant people" I would have agreed.

but "it read better" doesn't always mean it's a better claim.

It’s the same claim, either way, since only women can get pregnant; saying "pregnant women" and saying "pregnant people" is saying the same thing.

it is not the same thing, and woman to person is not the only change i made.

No, but I would only appreciate it if the door were held open for me because I am a person. Whenever people are holding doors open for any other reason, they tend to do it wrong.

You hold the door open if the person is close behind you or has their hands quite full. If you hold the door open for someone too far behind you you make a socially awkward situation. I wish people would stop doing this. If I go at my pace, then they're stuck there at the door for too long and it's annoying for both of us. If I speed up, it's much worse for me and more work than if they just let me open the damned door myself. For most people, holding a door isn't that hard.

Or you can say, "May I get the door for you." And if they say, "Thank you, but please don't" then don't.

I was just recently reading about people with disabilities who really wish people would stop getting the door for them. They need the practice opening the doors to keep their rehab up and be sure they can do it when they have no other choice, and people keep getting the doors for them without asking and with no polite way to say no. And you'd look a bit foolish going back out and back in again.

Hold the door for people. Stop making assumptions about who does or doesn't need it. Unless you ask, you don't know. That healthy looking 20 year old male may be severely disabled and that massively pregnant woman may be just fine and fully competent.

Hold the door for people with a ton of stuff in their hands, because then you pretty much do know and it's highly unlikely you'll get it wrong.

I hold the door for everyone, men,women and children alike. Everyone deserves common courtesy. They all seem to appreciate it, anyway. I don't care how how close or far behind they are. I'm not embarrased.