My bf does this too (and I would also go with absent-mindedness). That, and I suppose, like Girl's BFF said, he wasn't educated with the proper rules of social decorum with women. I thought of a sweet approach next time he does it, and just say, "Babes, I love it when you hold my hand when we're walking" then a quick kiss. Not only will you be walking beside him, you'll be holding his hand too.

If this doesn't work, just go straightforward and tell him to match your steps if he could. Otherwise, you'd have to buy him a leash to keep him at your side. :)

I guess I’ve been fortunate. I’ve always had the kind of guy who walks beside me & opens my car door for me too. (I also reach over & unlatch his door, with a smile.)

"well yeah, what's the problem? You're a woman. Your role is to be behind me at all times and then when the time is right, be barefoot and pregnant in my home. Comprende?"

XDXDXD

Yeah, my BF does this too. I'm sure its absentmindedness. He never gets the car door and generally he lacks chivalry.. If I mention it he laughs..He's a good guy, he just doesn't understand how much these little things mean to us girls.

If he is generally a good guy, then I would go with absentminded, in which case I would pick up my step to catch up and then either hold his hand or arm, this will make him aware and he will slow down to match your stride.
However, I did date a guy (awhile ago) who would always walk in front of me and if I said anything he would complain that I walked too slow. If I tried to hold his hand or arm he would shrug me off and if I said anything about it then he would complain about that too. Obviously that relationship didn't work out, but there were lots of other signs that smacked me in the face of why it was a bad relationship.

Are you really going to bitch about someone's walking patterns with you? If he was letting doors slam in your face and toher things, there might be need to complain. But this is just shallow, whiney princess attitude.

--No. This has nothing to do with general rules with anything. If you want to be pampered like you're a god, that's not a relationship. That's unrealistic expectations. If you're going to whine about how somoene walks, you need to not date. He hasnt' hit you, cheated on you, tripped you, or hit iyou in the face with a plate of food and said "EAT THIS NOW." He's moved his damn feet. Grow up.

I am mobility-impaired, and my husband can walk ahead of me without even trying. Sometimes he has good reason--running to hold an elevator long enough for me to catch up, for example. But if we're just walking, I can't even begin to keep up with him, and I wish he'd slow down.

Anna: You're kidding, right? Walking beside, rather than ahead of, is not treating a woman like a princess, it is treating her with respect. Nor is it unrealistic to expect courtesy, and if you see anything wrong with it, then you're the one who needs to grow up. Merely refraining from being a physically abusive butthole does not make man a prince. Your standards are way too low.

It is just an etiquette thing, but yeah unless you are from some screwed up society where woman have no rights (except to cook, clean, have babies), a guy should always let the woman walk in front of him. It doesn't matter if its a relationship or not... it could be co-workers out to lunch.

It could definitely be either the guy just doesn't realize the "rule," or it could definitely be that he's an a-hole. I just got out of a relationship where I slowlyyyy figured out the guy is one of those who basically HATES women... doesn't respect them, etc. We went to a nice restaurant for a special event and he barged right on through and left me struggling to walk in high heels. I was embarrassed a little because I knew people would think he's rude if they noticed. He believes they are second to him and have their "place." He actually posted an article from the 50's the other day, about being a "good wife." Last on the list was "a good wife always knows her place" or something like that. So if he has some signs of being like this, walking in front of you is because he thinks he's more important.. he's not thinking of you, he wants everyone to see him.. RUN FROM HIM!

I agree and just ended (about a month ago) an on/off 3 month relationship where he'd always walk ahead of me during dates when getting out of the car and it only got worse and as above poster put it bluntly, this person I was seeing would also shrug me off if I attempted to hold hands or put my arm thru his...there was really only one temporary moment where he actually held my hand in a parking lot and that was on the 2nd date maybe?

Red Flag, so watch out: If he doesn't want to hold your hand or put his arm around you in public (and no--leg touching under the restaurant table or massive PDA display or lack thereof outside doesn't count) when you are leisurely walking to a restaurant or whatever, this is a sign that he doesn't see you as girlfriend or long term relationship material