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From: terry@nrcvax.UUCP (Terry Grevstad)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Name-changing and "identity"
Message-ID: <255@nrcvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Sep-85 19:31:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: nrcvax.255
Posted: Thu Sep 12 19:31:44 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Sep-85 05:35:57 EDT
References: <510@osiris.UUCP>
Reply-To: terry@nrcvax.UUCP (Terry Grevstad)
Distribution: net
Organization: Network Research Research Corp.  Oxnard,CA
Lines: 37

jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) says:
>	It is also historically true that a woman takes a man's name as a
>sign of becoming his property - in effect, her virginity ceases to be the
>property of her father and is given over to her husband. That is why the
>father "gives" the bride away at the wedding (another tradition I didn't
>go along with !). This is well-documented in historical analysis. If we
>are trying to dispense with "traditional" views of women as weak-minded,
>helpless children, or as sex and baby-making machines for the dominant
>males, then we should dispense with the "traditions" that subtly reinforce
>those views.
>	As they say, men of quality are not threatened by women for equality.

There is also the aspect that when a woman takes the man's name, or
vice versa if you prefer, it means that the "family" as a whole has
one name.  This tends to unite the family as a group, giving it a
sense of unity, which hopefully will *keep* it a family.  When each
individual in the family has a different name, there is an element of
unity missing, which has a tendency to split up the family.  And there
are already enough elements out there waiting to split up families.

I also had property in my name, credit cards, a profession, etc., when
I got married.  I changed my name to my husband's name to signify my
unity with him.  I preferred not to hang on to that element of
individuality.  Many others I did hang on to, but that one presented
to the world at large our unity as a family, and that meant a lot to
me.  I wanted the world to know--not that I was his property--but that
he and I were joined in a common cause, creating an enduring family
unit.

-- 
\"\t\f1A\h'+1m'\f4\(mo\h'+1m'\f1the\h'+1m'\f4\(es\t\f1\c
_______________________________________________________________________

                                                       Terry Grevstad
                                         Network Research Corporation
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                                            ucbvax!calma!nrcvax!terry


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