We need to examine our expectations about marriage proposals writes Amanda Marcotte:

• In a study two thirds of all college aged adults indicated that they would prefer to have the male propose to the female.
• Not one man stated that they’d ‘kind of’ want the woman to propose (and only 2.8% of women did) while no participant across both genders “definitely” wanted the woman to propose.
• This is likely because our ideas about marriage come from TV shows and the experiences of our parents. Some even think it’s romantic to ask a female’s father for the girl’s hand in marriage.
• This has real consequences for women. It means that their only real role in the proposal process is to say “yes” or “no” – and the chips are often stacked against them when proposals are done in a public venue where a “no” might disappoint the gathered audience.

Read more about the steps we need to take to change this, the stereotypes about men and women that has led to this situation, and more details about the study over here.

Source: Slate