This presentation, Maiden Name Retention, covers some history of the tradition in taking the husbands last name after marriage. It also explores how this tradition today is old-fashioned, heteronormative, gender based, and stereotyped.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies/1083/thumbnail.jp

Kerr, Jennifer

English

University of Washington: UW Tacoma Digital Commons

University of Washington Tacoma UW Tacoma Digital Commons Sociology Student Work Collection School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Summer 8-25-2021 Maiden Name Retention Jennifer Kerr jkerr81@uw.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies Recommended Citation Kerr, Jennifer, "Maiden Name Retention" (2021). Sociology Student Work Collection. 79. https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies/79 This Undergraduate Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at UW Tacoma Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Student Work Collection by an authorized administrator of UW Tacoma Digital Commons. VOLUME XXI - NO. 2021 SPECIAL JOLLY ISSUESociology EditionDuring the ninth century, lawmakers began to consider the legalities surroundingpersonhood, families, and marriage. From this the doctrine of coverture emerged.Woman were thereafter considered “one” with their husbands and thereforerequired to assume the husband's surname as their own. Under this law womenhad no independent legal identity apart from their spouse. This law alsoprevented women from entering into contracts, engaging in litigation,participating in business, or exercising ownership over real estate or personalproperty. Husbands had complete control over their wives, legally andfinancially. More alarmingly, the law limited a woman's recourse in rape anddomestic violence cases.Her legal identity and rights were covered by her husband's, and her own legalidentity was nonexistent. Because she was not a person legally, she could not...• Own any property (including the clothes on her back)• Own or control her own body• Make decisions for her children against her husband's wishes• Sign legal documents or enter into contracts• Keep her own salary• Get any education against her husband's wishesHow it all BeganIntroducing...Mr. and Mrs. John DoeJane Smith and John DoeDAILYIllustratedNewspaperTHELATESTNEWS&PICTURESJennifer Kerr'sAGENCY1Enough isEnough - TheFeminist MovementsIn the mid-1800s a much neededfeminist uprising occurred concurrentlywith the passage of Married Women’sProperty Acts in several U.S. states.Under these acts, women gainedindividual legal status for purposes ofsigning contracts, engaging in businessand commerce, and making purchases toacquire property. There was noexpiration date of coverture laws per se.Instead, the laws fell to the wayside andfaded away. The suffrage movement ofthe late 19th and early 20th centuryhelped contribute to its demise.Feminists’ past and present, will pointout that a woman's name change was anirrefutable act of submission, and manyargue that when women take theirhusband's last name, it simply laid baretheir perceived inferiority to men. Whilewomen earned the right to vote in 1920,the fine print read that they can only doso using their husband's last name upuntil a half-century later when aTennessee court upheld women’s right tovote using their maiden name, courtesyof Dunn v. Palermo. Though the practiceof women taking their husband's lastname is not on any lawbook, commonpractices still forced their hands.OR AD SPACE HERE...Our names are the heart of ouridentity, yet nearly all women abandontheir original surname and take theirhusband's. This change in women’sidentity emerged from patriarchalhistory, where wives had no surnameexcept “wife of X”. Why is it that amarried woman can be addressed byher husband's name? Why do I, anindependent person from my husband,with my own past, my own familyhistory with who's name identifies me,my own career, accomplishments,failures and more still feels the needand pressures by our society toessentially erase my past and take myhusband's last name? I have an answerfor you, you do not have to and its ok ifyou don't. Yet within Western cultures,many woman in heterosexualrelationships adopt their husband'ssurnames after marriage and womentend to encounter stereotypes whenthey break with tradition by retainingtheir own surnames after marriage. Acomplementary possibility is thatstereotypes are also directed towardmen whose wives violate the surnametradition.The tradition of calling a woman byher husband’s name comes from an oldlegal practice that erased a woman’sidentity, called “coverture” whichliterally means “covered by”. This lawis no longer around, but we can still seeits effect today.“[c]overture… rests on the old common-law fictionthat the husband and wife are one, [and] the one isthe husband.” Former Justice Abe Fortas of theUnited States Supreme Court inUnited States v. YazellMaiden Name RetentionPrior to the 1970s, women could not getpassports, driver's licenses, or register to voteunless they adopted their husband's last name. Inthe 1970’s the U.S. Supreme Court struck down aTennessee law requiring a woman to assume thelast name of her husband before registering tovote. During this time the prefix “Ms.” Emerged,allowing women to assert their identify apartfrom their marital status.MovementContinuedThe moment for full marriage equality finallyarrived on June 26, 2015, with the Supreme Courtdecision in Obergefell v. Hodges, and marriageequality became the law of the land and grantedsame-sex couples in all 50 states the right to full,equal recognition under the law. Some likenedtaking their married partner's name to beingreduced to a piece of property, same sex couplecould see taking their married partner's last nameas heteronormative, patriarchal, traditional,archaic and old-fashioned. For many LGBTIQ+couples, taking their partner’s last name makes nosense to them. For some, having argued andfought for marriage equality for so long, theyfound it difficult to explain why they would wantto suddenly follow heteronormative namingconventions. I find this to be very logical and as aheterosexual woman, in sense by taking theirhusband's last name you are dismissing much ofthe feminist movements that women have foughtfor before us and for us. You are complying with astereotype by not even thinking or discussing thepossibility that there can be another way and thatit is ok to not follow tradition. Some also viewtaking the last name of their partners as taking ona subservient ‘wifey’ role where gender roles.Old-fashioned,Heteronormative,gender -based rolesand StereotypedKeep Your NameJane!Alternatives“I chose to keep my birthname because I like it. It isthe name I've had my entirelife. All of my career highsand lows are associated withmy name; my achievements,failures, and experiences areall contained in this name.” --Aisha SalaudeenDid you know that not all countries follow thisold tradition of changing the woman’s last name?Greece, France, Italy, Nederland’s, Belgium,Malaysia, Korea, Spain, Chile (and many otherSpanish speaking countries) -Woman keep theirmaiden name after they get married and it iscompletely normal, as it should be.Image or AD SpaceImage or AD Space“I simply want tobear the name I'vechosen withoutjudgment. I want tocontinue on thisjourney with thename I have so fartraveled; the onethat has wonawards and mademistakes. If thewomen at theimmigration officesee this as an act ofrebellion, so be it.”-Aisha SalaudeenhhhhhThere is nothing wrong with taking your husband'slast name, but this tradition is not for all. If you aredebating this yourself and feel that this particulartradition of taking your husband's name after marriage isnot for you or are in a same-sex relationship, here are afew alternatives.Keep your last name! Remember there is no law in theU.S. that says you must change your name.Hyphenate your last name, back in the day whenmarriages were more of an alliance between families,hyphenation was a common practice. This is a nicesolution that offers equal representation of your familyand your partners family.Make your maiden name your middle name. This issomething that both of my sisters did this.Have your husband take you last name. If you really wantto turn the tradition on its head, your husband can takeyour last name. Or create a new last name together, whynot? Its legal to do so.hhhhhWe do not have a say whenwe enter this world and wedo not have a say when weleave this world, so weshould have a say while weare in it. If he loves you, hewill not care what yourname is.-Jennifer KerrBibliography(2021) Name Changing After Wedding in Different Cultures. Getting Married Multiculturally Podcast.https://editvasadi.com/fifteen/• This is a website where I found other countries that do not have the same traditions in taking their partners last name.(2010-2021, The Conversation US, Inc.) Why so many women still take. Their husband’s last name.https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-women-still-take-their-husbands-last-name-140038• From this article I took a lot of the history and social norms from.Humans Rights Campaign. (Year unknown) The Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States.https://www.hrc.org/our-work/stories/the-journey-to-marriage-equality-in-the-united-states• From this article I took out dates and cases from marriage equality.Bronte Price (April 24, 2020) Bronte Price Gay Celebrant. Same Sex Couples – Change of Name After Married?https://www.hrc.org/our-work/stories/the-journey-to-marriage-equality-in-the-united-states• From this article I used the views of same sex couples in regard to changing your last name after marriage.Keri Lynn Engel (2011) Amazing Women in History. How “Mrs. John Smith” Lost Her Name.https://amazingwomeninhistory.com/law-of-coverture-why-call-a-woman-by-her-husbands-name/• From this article I took the bulk of my information from and the photo they used, “Law of Coverture”.Sharon Brandwein (Updated 03/22/21) Brides. Why Do Women Typically Take Their Husband’s Last Name?https://www.brides.com/why-do-women-take-husband-last-name-5116974• I used some of the history from this article.Stephanie Reid (2020) Seattle Bride. The History Behind Maiden VS. Married Names.https://seattlebridemag.com/expert-wedding-advice/history-behind-maiden-vs-married-names• I used some history from this website.Aisha Salaudeen (2021) CNN Opinion. Why is it so strange to get married and keep my surname in 2021?https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/opinions/maiden-name-history-rebellion-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html• From this article I quoted Aisha Salaudeen

Maiden Name Retention

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Maiden Name Retention

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