Is It Appropriate For Women To Propose To Men?
A video has been circulating on the internet of a Nigerian woman proposing to her boyfriend in public, and perhaps you have some questions about it. Questions like: ‘OMG, How d she embarrass herself like that?’ or ‘ Is she crazy?’. With comments and tweets ranging from ignorant to offensive.
Just because something has, in recent memory, always been done a certain way, that doesn’t rule out doing it differently now. And, for that matter, why shouldn’t women propose?
It’s a question many women and men struggle with : Should women propose to men? While it was simply a given in the olden days that the man would be the one who go on one knee and ask the women for their hand in marriage, times have now changed. Women are eschewing traditional gender roles, and asking their partners to marry them, but is it appropriate?
There is this new wave that is sweeping across the world called gender equality. And while we campaign for such equality, surely we can conclude that women can initiate the direction of a relationship, take a guy out, sometimes foot the dinner bills and maybe, go on her knees and pop the big question: “Will you marry me?”
The strongest believers in traditional marriage roles tend to be people high in benevolent sexism, or attitudes that women should be cherished, protected and given special treatment. If we are championing gender equality, we should look at all components of this belief. Empowering women is letting them do everything a man can do including proposing to the guy that she really wants to spend the rest of her life with!