It's not a sign of respect to the woman the man is marrying, who should be old enough to make her own decisions! It's a throwback to the days when marriage involved a woman being traded like property between her father and her fiancé. And if you're not going to listen when he says no anyway then you're not asking for his permission, you're asking for his blessing, so that would be a less creepy way of putting it.

"Family values"? You mean outdated values that say a woman is her father's property, and that she can't make her own decisions about her life? You mean the values that say children should be controlled by their parents, even after they become adults? "Family values", just like all other values, should be critically examined before being accepted. If they turn out to be sexist, racist, or otherwise illogical, they should be thrown out so that society can adopt more logical, more modern beliefs that don't treat human beings as someone else's property.

101, correct me if I'm wrong because I'm not really familiar with American history, but according to what you say about all ancient "values" and such, doesn't that mean all Americans should not celebrate Thanksgiving? It is rooted in the murder of millions, isn't it? Unless I'm wrong of course.

Yep. It's a time where we all gather 'round the table and thank the good Lord for helping us slaughter most of a country's inhabitants. YEEEEHAWWWW, AMURRIKAH!

Thanksgiving was never meant to celebrate the enslavement and extermination of the natives; it was meant to celebrate a good harvest. Granted, the holiday originated with the first settlers in the Americas, but celebrating a good harvest does not in itself promote or suggest inequality. On the other hand, asking a father whether you could marry his daughter very directly suggests that the daughter is his property.

I agree with you. matter of fact in some families it's not outdated. my family doesn't see it as the girl is property but it is respectful to them. but no doesn't mean you can't marry her though

I don't see it that way, ideasrule. To my understanding, the feast was all thanks to the Native Americans who brought them the food, and then they started murderering them the next day, yes? No one mass kills on a whim, obviously this was planned. The whole feast was basically taking advantage of the Native Americans' kindness. And yet there's nothing wrong with celebrating Thanksgiving, because obviously the murders and abuse are not at the core of the celebration of the holiday. Nothing here suggests the daughter is property. OP probably worded this wrong, and I have also explained in my other posts, this is a matter of getting a blessing, not permission. I doubt anyone honestly asks for permission nowadays. I can't know for sure, but I'm going to presume all OP meant was a blessing, not really permission.