The curtesy

[Monique65]

I sleep in panties and a night gown and rise earlier than my wife. The other morning when she came down stairs she remarked how cute I looked in my gown. Instinctively, I crossed my ankles, flared out my gown and did a slight curtesy as I thanked her. We both laughed and took it as a silly moment, but I was struck by the profoundly feminine nature of that simple gesture. I have done it for her several times since, and am amazed by my feelings as I do. It is a pleasant feeling of submission mixed with gratitude for her acceptance of me, and I feel I am truly expressing myself.

Does anyone else enjoy curtsying for your SO? What are your feelings as you do?

[alwayshave]

Monique, That is quite a cute story. I have never had the opportunity to curtesy. Funny, when I first saw the word curtsey in your post, I thought of the legal meaning, not the act of bowing.

[JesseVF]

I am continuously amazed at the level of acceptance by some wives - enjoy your curtsies and all associated feelings!

[Jillcder]

How cute your wife is a sweetheart for sure.

[Monique65]

Thank you, Jesse. It has taken years to reach this level of acceptance and I do cherish every moment.

[bridget thronton]

Cute story.

[Jane G]

What a lovely gesture, though not something I have had the opportunity to try.

[Sometimes Steffi]

I went the the local Renaissance Festival in period attire.

After buying some food at one of the vendors, he said, "Thanks m'lady".

I curtsied.

[AmyJordan]

Hi Monique.

Yes on days when my wife wants me to dress as a maid, typically once a fortnight or when her friends are visiting and she wants the house extra clean she likes me to totally immerse myself into that mindset and that definitely includes curtseying and responding quickly to the ring of her bell when summoned.
She is adamant it improves my housekeeping and I can honestly say it does focus the mind.
I wonder how many other members here have or would like a maids dress.

Amy x

[Monique65]

Hi Amy,

I do not have a maid’s dress but I’m sure curtsying in one is very enjoyable. I love the simple gesture of crossing my ankles, holding my gown out daintily and dipping slightly to show my wife my appreciation. It is the most feminine act I know and fulfills a deep desire to please her.

[prw230]

I only curtsy when I am dressed as a maid for my wife.

[DianeT]

Curtsy wasn't a gendered thing, it had to do with hierarchy. The association with a feminine thing is your fantasy, since many of you tend to associate submissiveness with femininity, which is just dated sexism.

[Geena75]

I'm just impressed so many of you know how to curtsy! I recall in grammar school when we were to approach the "king and queen" of valentines day with a bow or curtsy, none of the girls knew how to do it.

[Monique65]

Hi Geena,

Here’s a definition of a curtesy from Wikipedia. It defiantly refers to a feminine gesture of respect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtsy

[Sometimes Steffi]

There's a scene at the end of the movie "Shakespeare in Love" that kind of emphasizes the differences. The main plot device is a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. In Elizabethan times, it was "unbecoming" for a woman to be an actor. All women's parts were played by men dressing as women. It was a common plot device for a woman (played by a man) to impersonate a woman. The cross-crossdressing leant a specific comedic element to the play.

In the scene the woman pretending to be a man gets "outed" in front of Queen Elizabeth herself. She then gives the queen a courtesy, but after a surprised look from the queen does a bow. After all as an actor she must be a man no matter how she is dressed.

[DianeT]

It depends if we are talking of the way the act is executed, or its nature. If posters were only talking about the execution (posture, the dress, the tralala), then yes it is gendered. Women curtsy, men bow. But when some posters speak about submissiveness, this is about the nature of the act (or at least their way to describe subjection). In reality, the nature of the act, subjection, applies equally to men and women. Saying that an act of "submissiveness" feels like a feminine thing because it is a submissive act, is a sexist stance. It contributes to propagate demeaning stereotypes about women. It may not be the intention, but it is the consequence. I always have a thought for women reading this kind of lines.

[kayegirl]

At the end of my weekly ballet class, we always curtsey. First to the pianist, and then to the front of the class, and our imaginary audience. It's not an act of submission, neither do I consider it a exist action. Just one of acknowledgment, I suppose that I could give a bow, but as the only male in a class of 20, it's just a lot easier to go with the flow.

[abby054]

From the final verse of the Old English nursery rhyme,

The Dame made a curtesy.
The Dog made a bow.
The Dame said, ?Your Servant.?
The Dog said, ?Bow wow.?

This rhyme has a crossdressing element. It is widely believed to be a satire spread by wandering minstrels, a method of political cartooning for common people in the days when most were illiterate and too poor to afford printed materials anyway. King Henry VIII was colorful, to put it mildly, making him an easy target of this political commentary of the 16th century.

The first verse of Old Mother Hubbard goes

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard
To get her poor dog a bone
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare
And so the poor dog had none.

This rhyme satirized the embassage of Cardinal Wolsey (a crossdressing Old Mother Hubbard, the Dame) to Rome (the cupboard) to see Pope Clement VII to request an annulment (the bone) of the marriage of King Henry VIII (the dog) to his Queen Catherine of Aragon (The Infanta, princess daughter of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile, who together later ruled a unified Spain) so the Henry could marry Anne Boleyn. The journey failed (the cupboard was bare) and so the poor dog had none.

The army of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (nephew of Catherine) had captured the pope. In that circumstance, the pope would endanger his own life if he decided in favor of Henry and against Catherine, Charles, Ferdinand, and Isabella. Wolsey died on the way to see Henry. Henry rebelled against the pope and the Church, establishing his own church with his own bishop to annul his marriage to Catherine and to bless his marriage to Anne. Anne died three years later, beheaded at Henry?s order, but not before giving birth to Henry?s greatest child and successor, Queen Elizabeth I. Henry became obese and died of weight related diseases and complications aggravated by his personal excesses. And then the wandering minstrels sang in his ?honor?,

Robin the Bobbin?
Big Bellied Ben
Ate more meat than fourscore men.
He ate the church.
He ate the steeple.
He ate the priests.
He ate the people.