a quandary

There comes a time in a feminist's life where they must make a decision...

I ride public transportation. It isn't bad, really. In fact, it's a great place to watch people, or just a place to be anonymous if you feel like it. If you're from a small town, you know the luxury of feeling anonymous.

I ride public transportation every morning. As a woman, there have been a couple of times where individuals of the male persuasion have offered me their seats. My initial response is 'no, thank you. I am fine.' After all, I'm in my twenties and I sit in class all day. Standing is a welcome respite. Usually, their response is a shrug of the shoulders and they return to their seat.

It's when those individuals insist when things get ugly.

One time a man got down on his knees in the middle of the moving bus, pleading for me to take his seat. At that point, I refused out of spite. Today, the poor guy was so polite and really just wanted to be nice. You could tell his mother instilled him with manners. I took the seat, but as I sat there, my blood started to boil.

While this guy just wanted to be nice, the whole idea of offering a seat to a woman is due to the belief of the weaker female sex. Should I just play into the subtle (albeit unintentional) sexism? Or do I make a scene on the bus?

I'll have to think on this one for next time. You may read about me in the papers...