A friend of mine told me recently how he asked out a Mexican woman he knew in Bakersfield, Calif., and she told him she was married. He was taken aback because he had checked for a ring, and not seen any. While mentioning that my friend is no genius when it comes to women (who is?) several possibilities ocurred to me (I should say he didn’t mention if she was a Mexican immigrant or a Hispanic person raised in the U.S.):
1- She was married, but didn’t wear her ring. Possible, but unlikely. I’ve heard of the occasional guy who did this, but never a woman.
2 - She wasn’t married, but wasn’t interested in my friend.
3 - Wedding rings are an “American thing,” and Mexican women (or Mexican-American women who are traditional) simply don’t wear them. Regarding this, I recalled that when i lived in southern Mexico for several months, I never saw a wedding ring on anyone. This may or may not mean anything, since I wasn’t exactly looking most of the time. And when I went to clubs, it was pretty obvious nobody there was married, or they wouldn’t have been there. Also, many Mexican people are very poor, and could never afford an American-style ring with a diamond. This would seem to suggest the custom would never have taken root there, as well.
My wife’s family (and hence my wife) is in central Mexico (except my wife). Her sisters all have wedding rings, and my wife fully expected an engagement ring and wedding ring.
Of course, everybody involved is from middle- to upper-middle class Mexico, so I can’t speak for the whole nationality.
It just depends on the woman. If they were married in the Church, the ring is part of the ceremony, whether or not they wear it in their daily life is another matter. But many people here only marry in a civil ceremony and they may or not use a ring.
My wife and I have been married 21 years and she wears her ring only on some occasions, usually a wedding, baptism or something along those lines.
Also social level probably has a lot to do with it. The wealthy here have the reputation of being ostentatious so many rich ladies will be sure to show off their weddig and engagement rings.
Neither me nor my wife wears a wedding ring, therefore white Texans of mixed Northern European ancestry do not wear wedding rings. (Insert appropriate smiley here.)
Either that, or we couldn’t afford them when we got married (8 years ago next month) and still can’t justify laying out big bux for jewelry. I think that’s a highly likely #4 you left off up there.
Russell M, both my aunt and uncle wear their rings on their right hands. it’s where they were put by the minister when they were married, in Germany, 25 years ago.
4 - She could be Seventh Day Adventist. For most of the church’s history, jewelry of any kind was not allowed including wedding rings. This custom has changed in recent years so that an Adventist can now wear a wedding band as a sign of fidelity. But many members continue to not wear a wedding band.
