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

Abstract

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.