Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?

Previous research on engagement proposals finds that conformity to a traditional engagement proposal script legitimates the couple in the eyes of the larger community. This script, however, has long been held to be heteronormative, enforcing norms about not only marriage but also gender. Using a sam...

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Main Authors: Alicia D. Cast, David S. Schweingruber
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2022-12-01
Series:Socius
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231221139119
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author Alicia D. Cast
David S. Schweingruber
author_facet Alicia D. Cast
David S. Schweingruber
author_sort Alicia D. Cast
collection DOAJ
description Previous research on engagement proposals finds that conformity to a traditional engagement proposal script legitimates the couple in the eyes of the larger community. This script, however, has long been held to be heteronormative, enforcing norms about not only marriage but also gender. Using a sample of college students at a midwestern university, the authors explore whether conformity to a heterosexual engagement proposal script transfers the same social legitimacy to same-sex couples. Using vignettes, participants were asked to rate the strength and likelihood of staying together of three types of hypothetical couples (female-male, female-female, and male-male) on the basis of the traditionality of the engagement proposal script. Results suggest that relationships that conform to a traditional engagement proposal script are evaluated as being stronger and more likely to last, regardless of the sex category composition of the couple.
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spelling doaj.art-8a515a5203684741bd8750e5347c17d32022-12-22T02:50:13ZengSAGE PublishingSocius2378-02312022-12-01810.1177/23780231221139119Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?Alicia D. Cast0David S. Schweingruber1University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USAIowa State University, Ames, IA, USAPrevious research on engagement proposals finds that conformity to a traditional engagement proposal script legitimates the couple in the eyes of the larger community. This script, however, has long been held to be heteronormative, enforcing norms about not only marriage but also gender. Using a sample of college students at a midwestern university, the authors explore whether conformity to a heterosexual engagement proposal script transfers the same social legitimacy to same-sex couples. Using vignettes, participants were asked to rate the strength and likelihood of staying together of three types of hypothetical couples (female-male, female-female, and male-male) on the basis of the traditionality of the engagement proposal script. Results suggest that relationships that conform to a traditional engagement proposal script are evaluated as being stronger and more likely to last, regardless of the sex category composition of the couple.https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231221139119
spellingShingle Alicia D. Cast
David S. Schweingruber
Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?
Socius
title Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?
title_full Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?
title_fullStr Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?
title_full_unstemmed Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?
title_short Conformity to Heterosexual Engagement Proposal Scripts: Do Same-Sex Couples Benefit?
title_sort conformity to heterosexual engagement proposal scripts do same sex couples benefit
url https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231221139119
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