I really do think that gender equality is an ideal in our society, for the most part. But people simply cannot bring themselves to possibly care about it when it's inequality with a woman above and a man below. The horrible situation that has to be avoided at all costs is men above women, and it's worth it to have it in the other direction if it means that women won't have to be below men.

Essentially inequality in only one direction is the inequality that matters, and there needs to be a buffer of inequality in the other direction to stay as far away from this as possible. Equality is too close to women being below men, apparently.

I made the point here and here.

Then a few hours later I saw a post in /r/askwomen asking how to be a "gentleman" when treating women. The guy had a list of ways he could treat women as his betters, like giving her your jacket (that presumably you have because you need it) if she needs it, never doing anything but paying the utmost attention to her, opening all her doors, and of course, paying for all of her shit. You know, just because her reproductive organs are on the inside. He's trying to learn lessons from the Italians, where, and I quote, "women are idolised compared to how men in England treat women".

I pointed out that it's sexist to treat a woman as any better or worse than a man (and pathetic to do this to try to score points with the opposite sex, just as if a woman were to treat men as betters to get laid or find love). Their (edit: his, the OP) response, past "no it's not, fuck off"? It was to connect me to people who treat women like shit. Somehow, in arguing that no sex should be above or below the other one, that's what they understood from me.

Equality is too close to the only kind of inequality that matters. Sigh.