Stop curtseying

Trouble is her maj is so short it is impossible for a tall woman to get below her without looking deranged. Which is what happened to TM where her knee was nearly on the ground to get her head at similar height. As you say men don’t have to do this. A respectful nod should be sufficient. It’s.a bit like side saddle it’s days are over. Good point you raise OP

To curtsey or not is a personal choice.

A bit like covering our face with a veil or some other garment.

Yes I agree much more civilised.

On a river boat cruise in Germany last year there was a young member of the crew who always smiled and bobbed a curtsey if you met her in a corridor.
I don't think that there was a man on board who didn't fall madly in love with her.

I do a Curtsey Lunge in my exercise class. It feels pretty good. I can't think I'd curtsey to another person, ever. That would just feel dumb.

I wouldn't waste my time with these people, not that they would have anything to do with me.
There was just 1 thing wrong with the French Revolution, it stopped at the channel, if only we'ed had a tunnel then.

Gestures of courtesy aren’t confined to royalty or even the ‘upper’classes.
In the days when all men wore hats of some sort or another, they tipped their hats or caps at people they knew, whether men or women.
‘Howdo?’ was a commonly heard greeting in my childhood which accompanied the lifting of the hat. Just for the record, I grew up in a working-class district of Stockport.

When we’re out walking or cycling, people will often nod and smile. When we’ve been in America, complete strangers will smile and say ‘How ya doin’?’
It’s just a part of the human interaction that gels society.
Bowing and curtseying, as well as signifying obeisance and loyalty to the monarch, whom we have until someone thinks of a better system, is simply the top-end, most formal type of greeting.

Personally I object far more to being expected to hug and kiss people I barely know.

It is after all a primitive gesture, lowering one’s head to below the level of the “superior being” one is meeting.
Bowing, curtseying, kneeling, kowtowing or prostrating oneself all go back to time immemorial. Even in the animal kingdom animals will lower their stance like a Labrador puppy rolling over to indicate obeisance.
But then so does clapping /applauding to indicate approval.
I have often wondered why we do it, but continue to do so.

My first thought was that I am not moving in the right circles , as like Maw Broon, I don't curtsey to many, and can't remember when I last did

Is a curtesy a somewhat more submissive action than a bow?

Outdated practice, nothing to do with respect. I respect many people but would not dream of (or be expected to) curtesy.

I just wouldn't curtsey to anyone!!!!

She didn’t fall over gilly , you fears were unfounded ,

I can’t imagine ever being in a position where I would need to meet any of them . So I won’t lose sleep over it .

I shall desist immediately.
Not that I curtsey to many people these days

It wasn’t just the fact that TM chose to though Annie ( although I don’t think as PM she should as she is far more important than he is ) but she bent down so low I feared she would fall over .

Some choose to curtsy some don’t, what a fuss over one woman choosing to. I only bow to the cross, some don’t.

I don't think they are our superiors - they just hold a position which requires some respect. No different from the Prime Minister or President of any other country. I'd be happy to "bob" or bow my head to Royalty , but I'm sure that people who choose not to, are accepted by the Royals without any fuss. I'd think that , deep down, they care little what people do when they meet, as long as they are polite.

Why bob or bow or anything ? I don’t get it? Are they supposed to be our superiors ? Our betters?

A little bob or bow should suffice as a courtesy.

It's not to him though is it? It's showing respect to the monarchy.

When I met Princess Anne I was told that a bow of the head was all that was required.

The recent photographs and the TV coverage of the PM curtseying to Willie made me so angry. A woman of her position, standing, maturity and stature grovelling to someone just because of who his granny happens to be . So wrong .

I don't think if a woman chose a slight bow instead of a curtsey the Queen (or any of the RF) would have them rushed off to the tower!

That is exactly what's irritating, iam. Our Prime Minister should not be open, through her physical awkwardness, to looking so ungainly. I actually think Sarah Ferguson et al also look ungainly when they do it. It's an ungainly position to adopt.

The majesterial curtsey is the problem. A Royal Scottish Country Dance Society curtsey is elegant when done simply and properly and does not involve one's bum sticking out, one's head bowed, or one's legs looking awkward. You are supposed to look at the person you are greeting.

Men bow while still looking at their opposite number. Women using this much less ungainly greeting as well would solve the problem.

Yes, in the big scheme of things it's a small problem. One's allowed to talk about small problems.

I just can’t get irritated by the recent press photographs of women curtsying to her maj. The press coverage I’ve seen has seemed based on the usual nonsense of encouraging non extstant competition between TM, MM and Sarah Ferguson. That’s what I find irritating