Oh it's Leap Day ladies! What fun, you can now propose to your boyfriends, that moment you've been waiting for for four years. So take off that pinny, put down that pan and step away from the cooker.....Yes, it's that time again, where societal norms dictate that women can dust off their courage and pop the question to their beloved. But hold on to your girdles, because we're about to dissect why this tradition belongs in the history books rather than on our calendars.
Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room: the implicit suggestion that women need a biennial opportunity to propose, as if their agency in matters of the heart hinges on a quirk of the Gregorian calendar. It's akin to saying, "Congratulations, ladies, today you have permission to take charge of your own destiny!" How quaint. Last time I checked, it's 2024, not 1824.
Allegedly this is all to do with St Patrick. When told by St Brigid that the boys were a little nervy about asking and the girls were getting impatient he agreed that the ladies could have one day every 4 years to ask the question (don't want them getting above themselves).
This Leap Year tradition embodies the very essence of patriarchal norms, neatly packaged in a proposal-shaped box. It reinforces the notion that women must wait for a predetermined occasion to assert their desires, while men are free to pop the question whenever they darn well please. Why must we confine love to a specific date? Is romance subject to a schedule now, like a train departing on the 29th of February every four years?
Not only that - what if there isn't actually a man in the relationship....I know right! Do all same sex female couples have to wait till 29th February..... what about those who are non-binary or gender-fluid.
The idea that women need a special day to propose is as outdated as women being given away as objects..... In a world where gender equality is (slowly) becoming less of a buzzword and more of a reality, it's high time we ditched this relic of the past. After all, love knows no bounds, no schedule, and certainly no gender restrictions.
So, if you find yourself pondering whether to wait for the next Leap Year to pop the question, say Seize the day—any day, for that matter. Love waits for no calendar. Let's consign this tradition to the annals of history where it belongs, and embrace the notion that anyone, regardless of gender, can take the leap into matrimony whenever their heart desires.
Let's raise a glass to love unfettered by outdated conventions. Here's to a future where proposals are driven by passion, not by the rotation of the Earth around the Sun. Cheers to love, in all its forms, every day of the year.
Elopment photoshoot.
Couple: @rebeccaesme_couple
Celebrant: @ceremoniesbyleni
Hair: @ohyouprettythingshair
Make-up: @kudzi.beauty
Flowers: @wildbynatureflorist
Jacket: @niamhdesigns
Stationary: @roseandwylde
Videography: @thetaylorsfilmandphoto
Photography: @gemmasandellevents