diff --git a/gdk/win32/gdkselection-win32.h b/gdk/win32/gdkselection-win32.h
index c3ed6cd45e..0b024894eb 100644
--- a/gdk/win32/gdkselection-win32.h
+++ b/gdk/win32/gdkselection-win32.h
@@ -129,7 +129,8 @@ typedef struct _GdkWin32SelectionClass GdkWin32SelectionClass;
  */
 struct _GdkWin32Selection
 {
-  GObject *parent_instance;
+  GObject parent_instance;
+
   GHashTable *sel_prop_table;
   GdkSelProp *dropfiles_prop;
   /* We store the owner of each selection in this table. Obviously, this only