In ancient dynasties, the bride price was a product of patriarchal society. Women have a low social level, so they play the role of a wife in a family. Once a woman gets married, they are forbidden from visiting their original family. The bride price is actually buying the woman from her original family. I would suggest either giving a bride price to both parties' families or not giving any of them. This shows that in our era, there is no longer any idea of ​​favoring boys over girls.

I think the issue of bride price shows how cultural traditions can quietly carry inequality into the present. What begins as a symbol of respect can turn into a burden or even a price tag on love. It makes me wonder how we can honor cultural roots while still challenging systems that might harm people today.

A better way to view the bride price is as a gift from the groom’s family to the bride’s family, expressing gratitude and respect for raising their daughter. However, in modern times, the practice has increasingly become associated with the commodification of women, undermining the purity of love and marriage. While it is important to respect tradition, the bride price has largely lost its original meaning. It is now often treated as a bargaining tool between families, leading to serious moral concerns.

I think that in the instance where we get to decide what to do with the idea of bride price, we should either eradicate it or make it equal between the bride and groom. I believe that setting a monetary value on the bride will often times do more harm than good and is simply not necessary in today's culture. Personally, coming from Chinese descent, my family will gift something to the bride or groom (depending on which side of the family we're from) out of respect. I think that the idea of exchanging gifts or anything monetary in a marriage should be out of respect rather than any power or dominance motive.