Sunday, October 5, 2014

Why Don't Women Propose?

What's the big deal?
 

Women proposing to men is not socially acceptable. Why not?

social norms and traditions - men do the proposing, not women, and that's the way it's always been.

Changing the rules changes the game. Many people believe that changing the way things are done (women proposing to men as opposed to men proposing) would mean changing the whole idea of marriage (with men being the breadwinners and women being the subservient housewives).

There is some kind of fundamental attachment between gender identity and social actions (like proposing marriage).
A man is a man if he proposes marriage. A man feels emasculated if he is proposed to by a woman.

Women think it's weird just as much as men do.

Women suffer from "princess syndrome" in which they wait for a man to come and save them, rescue them. A princess isn't impulsive or aggressive. A princess waits for her prince to come get her and get down on one knee and propose. This is in large part due to the media - commercials, television programs, movies, etc.


Disney alone sets the example for how girls should be when they grow up. If a little girl wants to be a princess, she gets the message that she needs to look pretty, keep quiet, not be smarter than the prince, be patient, and wait for the prince to come and save her. Then she can be a good princess when she grows up. These little girls would never do the proposing because it goes against everything they've been dreaming of their whole lives.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you on the princess syndrome because little girls watch on TV and see what suppose ably has to be done. A prince will come and rescue their princess and they will live a beautiful life.I have never actually sat down and have taught about the idea of me proposing to my boyfriend but it could happen to other couples which i don't think is wrong.

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  2. It is a very interesting point about "princess syndrome". Girls love to watch princess movie and image they are princess when they are kids. I think they are affected not only by moives, also by their families. Actually, most them are princess in their families. However, I think when they grow up, there are something change. For example, some girls start to pursuit love, not just wait for love comes. Also, they want to have love and career at same time. Even though it is not common in the world, but some women are changing.

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