Gallant behavior followed the dictums of European chivalry, that of a strong and courageous man honoring the beauty of, and protecting the fragility of, a beautiful and dependent woman. Any deviation from these codes was usually met with expulsion from the social scene. Such displays as same sex dancing, or a reversal of roles were not accepted, accept in such instances where members of one sex were absent or severely deficient in numbers. In Argentina such a male society was created by the gender lopsided immigration of the late 1800's and early 1900's. The resulting tradition of the all male dance academy created the conditions necessary for the tango's sophisticated interrelation of lead and follow.
Wars also create precisely such imbalances of the sexes.
In the all male barracks of the military men would practice dancing together. In the practically male-less communities back home the women would do the same. Following each war, the dance roles continued to remain the same, but the social roles had been forever changed. These societal changes have resulted in a far more liberal relation among men and women, and have slowly influenced the dance techniques themselves. This has occurred during a cross cultural pollination of tangos that has been facilitated by the success of the great tango stage shows.