If You Like It Then Put a Ring On It

Thinking upon the concept of the invisible narrative it begins to unveil itself throughout the world that we live in. Invisible narratives are hidden in our culture everywhere we look. They have been implemented into our society since the beginning of time. One example of this is how women are perceived. Specifically, the idea of a woman having to wait for one man. Although men have been allowed to dance from woman to woman without a second look. 

Traditionally women are to be the ones who wait for their man. The lady is to sit idly by and prepare herself to be with that man who she may or may not think is the one for her. We see this in the symbol of the engagement ring. The majority of women share the dream that one day a man will kneel in front of them holding out a shiny mineral to place on that left finger. The woman waits for him to ask. Just as she waits to have him to herself once they are married.

Yes, it is a very sweet concept that two people make the decision to promise themselves to each other. What raised my eyebrow about this concept is that only the woman wears an engagement ring. Why not the man as well? Why can't a man show off that he will soon spend his life with the one woman that he may think is "the one?" Men do not tend to advertise that there is a woman in their life, whereas women cannot wait to tell their friends that they have been swooped up. 

An engagement ring only seems to be an object that mainly applies to the woman in the relationship. Why cannot the man make the promise as well? The ring has been used to show everyone around that this particular woman is taken, that there is already someone with whom she shares her life with. This however is never seen on a man. The time until their vows they are still "free men." It is not until after they say "I do," that they finally (as Beyonce may phrase it) put a ring on it. 

Time and time again we see that it has been accepted that "boys will be boys." What this means within this context is that it has become okay for men to be involved with more than one woman. We see in shows such as The Tudors, Mad Men, and Scandal the male character floats around from woman to woman as if it were a sport. Music videos are a wonderful example of this as well. We tend to see a single man surrounded by many scandalously dressed women. Men can have their "Entrees with Their Sides," Although when a woman is seen to be with more than one man she is a "slut" or a "whore." Yet they were practicing in the same actions that men get high fives for.

Why is that men can experience this so-called freedom without having to worry about the social consequences? Women have always had to maintain a form of relationship status. If she is single, she is not allowed to be with with multiple men without getting dirty looks. If she in engaged, she must force that ring in other mens faces to keep their pelvis at a distance. Once she is married, she is to give up her social life and stay at home waiting for her husband to return from his hard day at work. This has been the endless cycle that women have been forced into. A common symbol for this cycle is the engagement ring. The tradition of the woman waiting for her man to give up all other women for just for her, hopefully.