Equal Rights
In California, a man by the name of Michael Buday, finally managed to change his surname to his Wife’s surname. After two years and a crap load of drama, the Bijons (as they are now officially known) won and got it their way. Good stuff to him for being persistent and never giving up. It ain’t just a man’s world around here you know, women have been here just as long.
Picture courtesy of this link
May 7th, 2008 in
Blog Mode
Good for them for getting something they believe in!
At the same time, I get kind of queasy whenever people discuss matriarchal vs patriarchal surnames. I don’t think guys should get a total advantage over this (becauue you’re right, women should have as much of a visible presence as men) but I don’t think it would be fair to say the surname should be the woman’s, either. Marriage is supposed to be equal, so I think it would be best if both original surnames were included.
This probably creates a problem once the second generation’s kids need to get married, though. There is an answer, but I don’t think reversing power roles will do the trick. We should be trying to equalize gender powers.
I agree with equal gender powers, however I never thought about the second generation and what names should they take on. But we’re seeing more women keep their names too, yes, times are definitely changing.