Pom in Oz with Derek Goforth: What does it mean to be a gentleman in today’s society?

Is the age of the gentlemen dead and gone? As a matter of fact, what even is a gentleman? Not a “man”, but a “gent”. Go back a few decades and the definition of gentleman was quite rigid. A chivalrous, courteous, or honourable man. A polite or formal way of referring to a man. Or possibly a man of noble birth attached to a royal household. In layman’s terms, a gent was a posh toff who knew how to dress and look after himself. We certainly still have plenty of those people around, but do the positive qualities of being a gent still exist today? If you consider the recent incident in Perth where several “men” decided it would be perfectly acceptable to stand and hold up signs, grading female joggers out of 10. You could be forgiven for believing thinking the age of chivalry and being a “gent” was well and truly behind us. But you have to understand those so-called men who decided to act in that degrading manner were in no way “gentlemen”. They are pricks of the highest order (forgive my language). It’s a sorry state of affairs when men like that are allowed to mix in society, but I guess we live in a free world.. Being a gent now is different in my opinion. The term is far more classless, and these days, to say you are a gent means you have to earn it. Wealth and power are no longer enough, and in fact, they simply aren’t a relevant part of the modern definition. Money and position can’t buy you class or respect. A gent has high values and higher standards: He has good manners. He is is courteous, respectful and always polite. Please and thank you at all times, waits his turn and treats others as they wish to be treated. A gent is well dressed: Dressing clean and respectful is a matter of pride for a gent because it demonstrates his temperament and taste. Expense is not the point — more a style that suits the man. A gent is unassuming and open-minded: Never believing that his opinions and wisdom are comprehensive and incontestable. He seeks to learn, is open to new ideas, accepts constructive criticism, and welcomes failure as an opportunity to grow. A gent does not argue purely for the sake of it, more focusing on being able to put himself in other people’s shoes. A gent treats people with respect: When we say people, we mean everyone – women, colleagues, superiors, service people and people in authority. They believe that all people are created equal. He shows compassion with those less fortunate. He does not believe that putting someone else down will lift him up. Community is key for him. A gent’s actions match his words: Quite simply, a gent makes promises that he intends to keep, if he says it you better believe he means it. Honesty and integrity are second nature. It’s far from an exhaustive list but I do believe the gent is alive and well. Don’t believe me? Look a bit harder and past the stereotype that we often see walking around our foreshore. Maybe even pop into our local barbers in Centro — see for yourself that not only do we having living, breathing, gents in our community, but they advertise it on their walls. Derek Goforth is a teacher at Geraldton Christian College