this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2024
523 points (95.0% liked)
Funny
6894 readers
367 users here now
General rules:
- Be kind.
- All posts must make an attempt to be funny.
- Obey the general sh.itjust.works instance rules.
- No politics or political figures. There are plenty of other politics communities to choose from.
- Don't post anything grotesque or potentially illegal. Examples include pornography, gore, animal cruelty, inappropriate jokes involving kids, etc.
Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the mods.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
“Once upon a time” an expensive engagement ring worked as a sort of bride price and was a hedge against the risk of premarital sex.
How does buying/wearing a ring prevent premarital sex?
Back in ye olden times, you would pay a bride price to the parents of the bride, both symbolizing the eternal debt you owed to your wife and as a way to show you had plenty of money to spare to take care of your wife. You would then give your wife a dower, sonething they could hold onto in case you lost all your money or she became suddenly widowed. This historically was property but became rings or jewelry with expensive stones. The wife would take the dower as a sign she would no longer need to worry, and in exchange be a maiden on her wedding night. These practices were only for the wealthy, until indistrialization brought the practice to a growing middle class. Then, in the early to mid 1900s, marketing campaigns began associating the price of a ring to the love you felt for your wife, leading us to today.
Now this is capitalism.
I still don't see how an expensive dower would prevent the couple from having sex before getting married, but I guess I'm just too modern-minded.
It was more for the woman to not sleep around or sell her virginity.
That seems so much less likely to happen than the couple sleeping together themselves.
Doesn’t prevent it, but gives the girl collateral if the guy breaks off the engagement afterwards.
Diamond rings are basically worth fuckall for resale. Most pawn shops won't even take them