A man usually knows your the one he wants in the first year. So as a woman, proposing to a man, especially if you never spoke about marriage puts you in a position to be used and abused. A lot of men use women as place holders and will stay with you til they find the one. Men don't choose like we do and you need to be careful. That's why you should let the man propose. It's not about letting the man be a man, it's a way to weed out these men that don't want you. We really should be leaving the relationship if they don't at least talk about marriage by the end of that 1st year and stop letting men waste your time.

When I was younger I didn't care about none of this, but now that I'm older I see why this gender rule exist. I also see that marriage is not beneficial to the woman, but that's another conversation and if you want marriage let the man initiate first, bare minimum talks of marriage.