Engagement rings have a long tradition that draws on many different cultural conceptions of property, union, and gender. Dialogue about such rings and their role in the bridal culture of the Western world has recently really begun to open up, usually utilizing the internet as the forum for discussion about the transformation of dangerous patriarchal norms into less harmful traditions. This is proposed to be done through making informed decisions about the decision to purchase and wear symbols of engagement and intention to marry. Nowadays, professional jewelers are crafting more affordable rings than ever, and with same-sex marriage challenging the gender roles typically associated with marriage, the institution is changing rapidly.

The dialogue sprouts from the origins and modern place of these rings in our culture. Rome and Greece were societies whose cultures were focused on property and inheritance, and this mindset had influence on the way they used engagement or betrothal rings. A ring worn by a woman to symbolize her intent to marry someone functioned, and continues to function, as a way to signal her unavailability from competing parties, effectively branding her in the same way a farmer might stake claim on their stock. Understanding the place the engagement ring has in Western culture demands a certain cursory knowledge of history, social construction, and gender studies. We borrow our concept of the engagement ring from many older societies, and their parameters for the use of these rings survives in part, having been incorporated into a Western definition.

The same criticism is true for the use of titles that indicate the sexual availability of a woman, such as Mrs., Miss, or Ms. Similar titles are not socially expected for men, but are casually assigned to women in everyday scenarios. While the intent is usually to be polite and not to maliciously reinforce an oppressive patriarchal power structure, the origins of such titles must be understood in order to be transformed.

Third-wave feminism is the primary vehicle for these discussions. Opinions are varied. Because of the third-wave feminist focus on agency and choice, even in areas that are stereotypically associated with female oppression(body hair and shaving, for example), it is a prevailing opinion that engagement rings might be inherently problematic but that whether or not they enforce oppressive power structures depends. The woman, with full exposure to debates and information, must freely participate in the decision to have and wear an engagement ring, despite the implications it may have in alignment with the history.