I think it's the political activist's version of the Wilderness of Mirrors. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Wilderness of Mirrors is a psychological condition that spooks sometimes find themselves in after a long period of time undercover. They get so used to always looking over their shoulder, that after they get back to the real world, they continue to see conspiracy and threats everywhere they look. The activist's equivalent can be seen in the Prejudice Conference being hosted at the University of Wisconsin (H/T to Tongue Tied). One of the speakers, Peter Glick, will be presenting on the following:

Continued progress toward gender equality is hampered by beliefs that appear to "favor" women, but actually serve to legitimize inequality between the sexes. Although affectionate in tone, benevolently sexist beliefs are patronizing, characterize women as weak, and reinforce the notion that men must provide for and protect women. Thus, even though benevolently sexist beliefs correlate with evaluatively positive views of women (e.g., as pure and warm), they also correlate with hostile sexism toward women who challenge men's power (e.g., feminists) and, in cross-national comparisons, with societal indicators of gender inequality (e.g., few women in powerful roles in business and government). Although benevolent sexism is not (historically) a new development, it is particularly difficult to combat and may be the strongest remaining bastion of sexist belief. Whereas many overtly hostile sexist attitudes, such as the idea that women are inherently less intelligent than men, have been widely rejected in American culture, benevolent sexism persists, in part, because it many women find promise of male protection and provision attractive. Additionally, benevolent sexism is strongly related to cherished cultural ideals about heterosexual romance. Thus, benevolent sexism may be particularly effective at undermining women's resistance to inequality. Exposing the hidden costs of benevolent sexism is a first step toward challenging its pernicious effects.

Did he ever stop to think that guys aren't being nice to women because they want to maintain power over them in some form of "benevolent sexism", but rather because guys just want to get laid, and that women hold power over men? Or maybe it's something as pure and simple as courtship, or maybe just kindness to another human being. Maybe next time I go on a date, I should slam the door in her face instead of holding it open for her.

What is it about some political activists, that they see racism, sexism, and bigotry everywhere they turn? Could it be that in reality, the world isn't as awful as you seem to think, and that maybe you've just been protesting for too long?