Belle, aka Belle Vierge, writes over at Finding My Virginity about being a Christian feminist living "outside the virgin/whore dichotomy." Many of the topics she covers seem like they'd be foreign to me, but there's something to engage with in every post - often more than I'd like to admit, honestly. I love reading her pieces about the importance of humility, the objectification of women, and the definitions of sex and virginity that work for her. Whenever I come across something online about women and/or intimacy that fires me up, I know I can turn to Belle for a challening discussion. (She even joined me back in the spring with her own "I Believe" post!)
When I asked Belle what topic she'd like to write on for her September sponsorship, I was thrilled that she picked Wedding Wednesday. What could be better suited? And I also knew that, because my readers are game for posts that make them think, she could totally be herself about this issue. She's written more about it on her own blog today, so make sure to check it out after you've read her thoughts here!
Betsy's Wedding Wednesday
posts have been among my favorites, so I'm thrilled to contribute to the
conversation from my
choice-feminist-with-a-serious-boyfriend-but-not-actually-planning-a-wedding-yet-ish
perspective.
Beau and Belle
Both Third Wave and Fourth Wave Feminism at least partly include choice feminism, that is, women should be
free to make their own choices for their lives without judgment from other
women. But is every choice made by a woman thus a feminist choice?
No.
And that's okay.
But how exactly does this
tie into the wedding part of Wedding Wednesday?
Traditionally, when women
married men, women then adopted their husband's last name. But this is 2013,
and while this tradition is still quite aggravatingly the norm, it's no longer the only option
for married women.
Question: Is taking your
husband's last name upon marriage a feminist choice?
As Betsy realized when she
did some research before her
own post on this topic, feminists are overwhelmingly supportive of an individual woman's
choice to keep her maiden name or take her husband's last name. We do tend to be a little
concerned at the overall trend of women as a whole taking their husband's last
name, but we value the individual choice of women.
The comments of any article on this subject, however, tend to include
women who are defensive about their choice and men who are suspicious of women who keep
their last name. So I want to break down all these thoughts once and for all.
Women have their
own reasons for keeping or discarding their maiden name, some of which are frankly more valid
than others (I'll get to this later). When we share these reasons, when we
speak positively and happily about our own choice, when we offer what our
choice means to us, we are not stating that the opposite choice reflects opposite values. But, IMHO,
sometimes women on one side read too much into what women on the other side
have to say about their choice, and thus women get really defensive about said
choice.
I am keeping my last name because I think adopting my husband's last name is an archaic tradition
that reeks of patriarchy and ownership. How I couple this belief
with my desire to get married is over on my blog today. But that doesn't mean I
think Betsy is now Jon's property nor do I think she's a secret agent for Teh Patriarchy, working with
All Teh Menz to rule the simple womenfolk.
I am keeping my last name
because I love my last name. I love my first name with my last name. I love the
way my first, middle, and last name sound together. It's a name I've carried 26+ years,
and I don't want to lose it. In fact, it's such an awesome name that I really
wish I could share it with y'all because I love it so much, but it's so unique
that I keep it on the DL to protect my anonymity-ish-ness. But that doesn't
mean I think Betsy hates her maiden name, or hates her middle name, or even
that she prefers Jon's family name to her own. Although, IDK, Jon is British, and anything he
pronounces probably sounds better and more posh than what Betsy or I could say
with our considerably less sexy American accents.
I am keeping my last name
as a sign of my independence and my feminist beliefs. That doesn't mean
I think Betsy is less independent or less feminist than I am. I mean, I think
my medium-distance relationship with Beau strongly indicates my independence,
but look at Betsy,
all calm and collected about a transatlantically long-distance marriage!
I can have my own reasons,
based on my own values and beliefs, for keeping my last name, and they have
nothing to do with a woman who chooses differently. When I share my motivations for keeping my last
name, I'm not automatically judging Betsy, or, let's be honest, every single
one of my married female friends including the flaming
liberal-essentially-socialist feminist ones, for choosing differently. The
opposite is true as well.
Some women see sharing a
last name as a symbol of unity. Some women think it's easier for the whole
family to share one last name. Some women think taking their husband's last
name is a sign of love and respect. Some women really want to share their future children's last name
(although why the children's last name is automatically the father's is beyond
my egalitarian comprehension). Some women are hiding from abusive exes or
stalkers, and getting rid of their maiden name protects them. Some women feel closer to their husband's
family than their birth family. Some women have absent or abusive fathers and
don't want to keep that name. Some women just appreciate the tradition. But
most of the time when they are sharing their own reasons, they're not condemning me for being an
outsider in my family, or suggesting I don't love and respect my (eventual)
husband.
Reasons that are less valid
and piss me off?
An old friend of mine and I
used to talk about how we would keep our maiden name when we got married one day. We shared many
feminist ideals, and our devotion to our last name (which, coincidentally, were
the same) was one of them. When she got married several years ago, she took her
husband's last name.
Why?
Because her future
mother-in-law gave her the biggest guilt trip of my friend's life. When her future MIL found out
that my friend planned on keeping her maiden name, she went on and on about how
my friend didn't like them, how she wasn't happy to be marrying into the
family, how she clearly didn't really love and respect them. So my friend took her husband's last name to
keep the peace.
And that happens more often
than women would like to admit. Young brides will swear up and down that the
choice was completely theirs, that it was just easier. But when I read articles on the
subject, I'm always saddened by the number of women in the comments who express
regret at being bullied into taking their husband's last name.
Even worse, sometimes the
husbands are the one bullying their wives. Like I mentioned above, the comments by men
on any article on this topic tend to be overwhelmingly sexist.
Women who keep their maiden
name aren't truly committed to their husband.
Women who keep their maiden
name have an underlying problem they're not expressing.
Women who keep their maiden name are going to control
their husband and make him miserable.
Women who keep their maiden
name aren't Christian.
Women who keep their maiden
name don't love or respect their husband.
Unlike my description above
of women being defensive
of their choice, I didn't have to read between the lines to find these
comments. Men wrote them in a very straightforward, suspicious, and sexist
manner.
When so many men and
mothers-in-law have that attitude, even the most feminist and stubborn of women might sacrifice
their own desire to satisfy their husband or in-laws.
I'm a little long-winded
and it took me some time to get here, but we're finally at the conclusion.
Answer: Taking a husband's last name is only a genuine choice if a woman is unafraid of keeping her
maiden name.
Assuming it's an actual
choice, then taking a husband's last name is neither a feminist nor an
anti-feminist choice. It is a neutral choice.
Not all of our choices have
to be feminist. It's okay, ladies! I don't eat feminist cereal for breakfast or drive a feminist
car to work or wear feminist bikinis all the time.
But seriously, y'all. I talked
about the whole name thing to relate it to weddings, also because I'm obviously
totes passionate about it, but that's not my main point.
Do what makes you happy.
Yes, stop and ask yourself
why it makes you happy, and double-check that you're not afraid of the reactions of toxic
people.
Then, go back and do what
makes you happy.
When I get married, the primary reason I will not take Beau's last name
is because keeping my maiden name makes me happy.
And honestly, that's a good
enough reason for
anything.
