Sometimes when young men begin their journey into manhood, they start in on the gentlemanly side of things. They dress in stylish, classic attire, don a fedora, and focus really hard on manners and etiquette. They hope that by doing so, others will recognise them as grown men, good men.

Yet oftentimes others cringe and chuckle at these would-be gents instead, and they become the fodder for “m’lady” memes on the internet.

Why do these well-meaning but hapless guys elicit this reaction?