Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular days of the year to propose on. But if your girlfriend popped the question on the most romantic day of the year, would you still say ‘yes’?
Through a Google Consumer Survey, vintage jewellery and luxury watch specialists William May asked the question, ‘Should women ignore tradition and propose to men?’. More than half of the respondents ages between 18 and 65 felt that it is the time for women to take the lead when it comes to popping the question.
Traditionally, it has always been considered the man’s job to propose. Until recent years, a female proposal would be unthinkable, and was something which would only be carried out by eccentrics during a leap year. However, we now live in a world where traditions are routinely challenged. Indeed, it seems odd that as a contemporary society we would strive to break the boundaries of female equality but still keep this strange tradition alive.
The survey revealed some very interesting insights into our attitudes towards marriage proposals…
Female equality is on the rise
Interestingly, 65.9% of men voted ‘yes’, compared with 61.5% of women. While the figures are pretty close, it’s refreshing to see that such a sizeable percentage of men felt that women should take the lead and propose.
Older generations are challenging stereotypes
While people in all age groups agreed that women should propose to men, the survey highlighted that older members of society – those who we’d perhaps expect to cling on to old-fashioned views – are firmly behind a marriage proposal revolution.
Surprisingly the highest percentage of people who answered ‘yes’ were aged 45-54 with 76.4%, closely followed by the over 65 category, of which 68.7% said that tradition should be challenged.
This is quite a contrast to the youngest group of 18-24 year olds, where only 54.1% said that women should propose. As a more traditional generation, you would have imagined that the results would be the other way around. Yet, it seems that as you get older, insignificant details such a who proposes to who doesn’t matter as much when you have found the one that you love.
A resounding ‘yes’ from Wales
If you are a woman thinking about where the perfect place to propose is then perhaps you should consider venturing out of England, as 100% of the Welsh respondents and 70% of Scots agreed that women should have the right to propose. However, this wasn’t a completely shared view across the entire UK, as 66.7% of respondents from Northern Ireland voted to keep tradition alive by stating that men should be the only ones to propose.
Very interesting findings from William May! Talking of proposals… have you seen the officially most popular day of the year to pop the question? It’s not Valentine’s Day you’ll be surprised to hear! And if you want to see some bad, bad proposals…
