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« Finding an ally in the community | Main | And a Little Child Will Lead Them »

February 18, 2009

Those crazy young upstarts

MarriageCertificate2 Writing in the Boston Globe, Linda Matchan laments a new generation of brides who have the audacity to take their husband's names. After quoting an engaged woman who said, "I always knew I wanted to take my husband's last name. It's more unified, as a family," Matchan rails:

Personally, I would argue they've given in to the patriarchy. Hear me roar here for a second: What on earth are these girls thinking? That they're somehow immune from divorce? That a family with two names isn't really a family?

Really, the nerve of this generation, thinking they can somehow manage to stay together for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death them do part. 

The problem is that Ms. Matchan and her generation didn't just do away with the symbolism of a marriage that meant the merging of two lives into one new family. It hardly seems a coincidence that Ms. Matchan's generation was also the one that raised latchkey kids and spawned a generation of children of divorce. Chances are, not a few of those kids grew up with last names that were different from those of others in their household, thanks to stepfamilies and blended families. Sometimes a separate identity, no matter how symbolic, can be a pain. 

Now, those kids are the adults, and they are embracing the reality and symbolism of marriage and family, the things they so often missed out on when they were growing up. I say, good for them.

(Image © Sentiment Keepsakes)

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