Changing informal institutions via mimesis: Gender equality in marriage proposals

Hoelscher, Vera, Khanijou, Ratna and Pirani, Daniela ORCID: 0000-0002-1042-2608 (2023) Changing informal institutions via mimesis: Gender equality in marriage proposals. GENDER WORK AND ORGANIZATION, 30 (1). pp. 52-67.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12898

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Marriage equality has exposed how the institution of marriage is changing, but less attention has been given to how informal institutions around heterosexual marriage rituals are affected by a growing demand for gender equality. By applying institutional theory and feminist institutionalism to the context of women proposing to their male partners, this paper observes how shifts in gender norms change heteronormative institutions. Drawing from interviews with women who proposed to men and a virtual ethnography, we describe how reverse proposals can set precedence for emulation of practices or mimetic isomorphism. We therewith contribute to institutional theory in threefold ways. First, we describe how mimetic isomorphism introduces new standards and norms into a highly traditional institution. Second, we show how this integration of new standards and norms serves this patriarchal institution to remain relevant and appear progressive. Finally, we contend that this tension of joining a patriarchal institution but doing so in a subversive manner represents a double bind for women who are encouraged by society to formalize their heteronormative relationships through marriage and yet chastised for initiating this themselves.</jats:p>

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	feminist institutionalism, gender equality, institutional theory, mimesis, relationships
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2022 13:58
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2023 02:47
DOI:	10.1111/gwao.12898
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3165221