"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride... etc and so forth." This is followed shortly after by the MC announcing the newly married couple, "Now, introducing for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Smith..."
In the past it was always assumed, and expected, that a woman would take her husband's last name once they got married. Not only is not expected anymore, it's not even safe to assume that it will happen. That being said, 57% of people think that a woman should take whatever name she chooses to.
Even using the term "maiden name" is considered to be out of date, and that it shouldn't be used anymore. This change has been happening over the last decade as more and more women choose to keep their last names.
But men that marry women who keep their last names aren't so lucky. Science Daily posted the results of a study that showed that people perceive men, whose wives didn't take their last name, to be less masculine and that they have less "power" in their marriages.
"A woman's marital surname choice therefore has implications for perceptions of her husband's instrumentality, expressivity, and the distribution of power in the relationship," said lead researcher Rachael Robnett of the University of Nevada
A study from 2009 conducted by a website that helps brides change their last names showed that 82% of women change their last names within two years of marriage. Another study also showed that more than half of millennials and members of generation X feel that a married couple should share the same last name.
As surprising as that stat is, fewer than half of baby boomers felt the same way!
But what does this mean for the men in the relationship?
A study was conducted in the U.S. and UK about men whose wives keep their own names. It included 355 people, and it showed that respondents used more "expressive" words to describe these men, and it showed that these men were perceived as less instrumental, more expressive, and as holding less power.
My wife kept her last name, not because she wanted to emasculate me, but because it has been her name since birth and she is quite proud of it. A woman should have the right to choose what name she wants to go by, and honestly, names can be changed easily if the situation changes.
How do you feel about this?
