Women should feel comfortable enough to propose to men

by Eliandro Ramirez Chang/ Contributing Writer

Ten years ago, the notion of a female president was impossible. Today we live in a world which a female candidate won the popular vote in 2016’s presidential elections.

Strides of progression are made every day; it’s been a long battle and continues to be, but we are in a much different place than where we were.

Though I will say sometimes the steps of progression have been a bit too much. When H&M had its controversy with portraying a black child wearing a hoodie that said, “Coolest monkey in the jungle”, stores in South Africa were destroyed over the ad by protesters.

This writer thinks it’s important to voice concern but destroying a store is a bit too much. Granted this happened in South Africa not the States, but global movements are worth stating.

That issue was specifically about race, but it is important to note the movement is happening world-wide.

For example, Saudi Arabia now allows females to drive in their country. Worldwide progress is being made it seems.

Moving back into the issue here at home, there seems to still be an issue with gender roles in our country.

Not only in the work force with certain positions still unfortunately frowned upon(or not taken seriously) if held by a woman, but still in our personal lives as well.

Does the thought of a woman getting on one knee to propose to her boyfriend sound strange to you?

How about if she didn’t get on one knee but still proposed in another unique way? Should it matter?

Some might think there was something wrong with that, perhaps an odd lingering taste left behind when reading that question.

It might just not seem right. This writer personally doesn’t think there is a problem with that at all.

Women should be able to feel comfortable enough to propose, give a gift on Valentine’s Day, or make the first move.

Women should be able to do that which I mentioned and much more without feeling judged or thinking there’s something wrong with that.

Some people (both men and women) feel like this is wrong and I believe this a consequence of tradition.

Humans tend to fall victim to sins of tradition.

We tend to stick to what everyone already does, once a group of peoples want to change that it becomes jarring for most.

Change is usually scary, but just because it’s been done a certain way for a very long time doesn’t mean it’s the right way to go about something.

Stop and think, why exactly would it be wrong for a woman to propose to her man?

Some may say “because it’s a man’s job”, but that argument has very little weight.

It can easily be said a CEO is a “man’s position”, there’s virtually no weight behind that argument.

So it boils down to either preference or a traditional perspective.

But then, why would this be someone’s preference? Tradition influencing preference or simply preference?

This writer believes the best way to combat the unfairness of tradition is to birth a movement of change.

That begins at the individual level.

The dating app Bumble already forces women to make the first move when matched with a guy, as a way to give women more control and equality.

There shouldn’t be anything wrong with a woman proposing. If it’s scary then that’s good!

It’s completely normal to feel nervous around someone you fancy. Of course, this article has been written from a  heterosexual angel but hopefully the message is clear.

This writer sees no other reason than traditionalism or preference for the roles usually held for men to become shifted when women perform them.

Perhaps religious reasons have some impact on these types of gender specific roles, but the reader is invited to think on this topic themselves.

The reader should answer this question for themselves and discuss with those who are willing to listen: Should women propose?

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

1 Comment on "Women should feel comfortable enough to propose to men"

  1. William Lisenbee | March 4, 2019 at 1:16 PM | Reply

    I am reading this in my ENC 1101 class, and we’re wondering why you chose to use such short paragraphs. Also, we wondered why you did not state your main argument earlier and instead announced what your article will be about.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*