Meghan DeMaria, The Week: So maybe it's time for couples to rethink the meaning of engagement rings and male proposals. In a society where many wives work and keep their last names, the male proposal seems terribly antiquated. Of course, as many traditionalists will be quick to note, the modern proposal isn't as one-sided as it was: Women are permitted to "drop hints" about their desires to get engaged, joking about diamond cuts and offering peeks at their dream proposals. And women still have the power to decline the offer. But if the fantasy "proposal" is a symbolic gesture, with couples often discussing marriage before the event, why are we holding onto it, and what, exactly, is it a symbol of?
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