Women Find 1950s Men More Desirable: Survey

Women apparently find the more chivalrous men from the politically incorrect era of the 1950s the most desirable of all time according to a new survey from England.

These surprising findings — brought forward by a UK men’s skincare products company — that women reportedly find old-school 1950s values attractive may in part result from the popularity of guys like the Don Draper character (portrayed by Jon Hamm) on Mad Men, except one small detail: The AMC TV series takes place in the 1960s. And, more importantly, the way Don Draper (and several of the other principal male characters on the show) treats women is hardly polite.

The UK company, Scaramouche & Fandango, has not yet posted the actual methodology and details for the survey on the internet, but the survey overview was featured by London’s Daily Mail:

“A new survey has revealed that modern women regard the men of the 1950s as the most desirable of all time — and would love their 21st century counterparts to make more of an effort with their manners and appearance.

“Unlike modern males, men in the 1950’s regularly held doors open for women, and had a wardrobe full of well-pressed two piece suits.”

In the survey, 61 percent of the respondents indicated today’s male of the species doesn’t hold a candle to well-groomed, well-dressed, and “manly” men of the 1950s. Only a little over half of the female respondents believe that men behave in a gentlemanly way toward them.

Apparently the survey revealed that when it comes to female perception of the opposite sex, what’s old is new again:

“Old-fashioned manners proved overwhelmingly popular among women,with 82 per cent saying they preferred old style chivalry such as holding doors or buying flowers to their modern equivalent — buying a drink.”

Business casual has been a huge upgrade, but that being said, do you think that chivalry and good manners are dead in contemporary society? Is this survey legit (i.e., that women want men to be like they were in the 1950s) or is it just a promotional vehicle for the company’s grooming products?