The "Gentleman Function" available on the new BMW. Really?

According to a blog posting at the Los Angeles Times, one of BMW's new cars has an option called the "Gentleman Function." Situated right below "Shoulder Support" and just above "Seat Heating," this gendered option apparently allows the driver (or anyone else within arm's reach of the dash board) to move the front passenger seat forward and backward. I assume this is to give the person sitting in the backseat more leg room -- a 'gentlemanly' behavior, BMW seems to think.

The title of the LA Times posting asks whether the option's name is "sexist or civilized" -- but like any gender-related issue, the answer is never quite that simple. One element that seems clear, however, is that this label does expose some of the basic assumptions about gender and behavior. It also points to what sorts of behaviors are expected of certain genders: Men are active while women are passive; Men are the drivers while women are the passengers; etc. It also suggests something of the men who would drive a BMW. A high-end luxury car like this allows men to fulfill their dutiful obligation to women in a more 'refined' or 'sophisticated' manner -- the 21st century man of modernity moves her seat at the flick of a switch, not by asking her to move it herself.

But in 2009, a point in time when companies spend billions of dollars on marketing and public relations professionals, would BMW have let something like this "slip through the cracks"? If you ask me, they don't see it as a slip at all, because their customers believe in these roles and behaviors. It makes sense to someone who spends $80,000 on a car that it would not only parallel park itself, but also help you fully realize your gendered potential.