Happy Monday!
I'll kick the week off with this article, which describes the (slowly) growing trend of men taking their wives' last names.
It coincides with a scene from last night's episode of "Desperate Housewives," in which one character's husband expressed disappointment at her unwillingness to take his last name.
My mom kept her maiden name, and the majority of my journalism friends have done the same. It's kind of hard to have the same byline for three years and then abruptly surprise your readers.
While I was enrolled in a Spanish conversation course, one of our discussions focused on the implications of taking a husband's last name. One of my classmates said it wasn't a big deal, and I remember our professor freaking out in response.
"Su apellido es su identidad! Su apellido es su identidad!"
("Your last name is your identity! Your last name is your identity!")
I've already decided I'll keep my last name if I ever get married. Not so much for value-based reasons, but mainly because I have a pretty poor history of filling out government paperwork in a timely fashion.
Married readers: Is a decision to keep your last name driven mainly by personal identity issues, or more practical concerns?
