Taking of husband’s name very personal

Dear Carolyn: When a woman chooses to take her husband’s name, is it obnoxious if I ask, “Why is this the right decision for you?” and then really listen to the answer?

None of my friends has changed her name yet, so I haven’t had to put this in practice, but I’m genuinely curious why people still make this choice. If I thought the majority of wives-to-be had put great thought into the decision, then it would not bother me. I just hate the assumption that a woman will do this, whereas a man would not. And …

Dear Carolyn: When a woman chooses to take her husband’s name, is it obnoxious if I ask, “Why is this the right decision for you?” and then really listen to the answer?

None of my friends has changed her name yet, so I haven’t had to put this in practice, but I’m genuinely curious why people still make this choice. If I thought the majority of wives-to-be had put great thought into the decision, then it would not bother me. I just hate the assumption that a woman will do this, whereas a man would not. And it is an assumption; the friends who have not changed their names get a shocking amount of flak for it. – Name Changes

So why would you look for polite ways, then, to give women “a shocking amount of flak” for taking a husband’s name – finding them guilty of sexist assumptions until they prove themselves innocent?

From here, you appear to be violating the same boundary as those who shame women for keeping their names, by acting as jury on whether a woman has “put great thought” into her name. Neither the quantity of thought nor validity of the philosophy applied is any of your business – and treating it as such implies that you expect women to represent their demographic the way you think they should, versus the way each of them actually wants to. And that includes rejecting the very idea that being female makes them spokespeople for anyone besides themselves.

Now, if you simply struggle to see this choice from any perspective but your own and your friends’, and you want to understand, and have no agenda to push, then by all means, make like a scientist and start gathering data. But if the agenda is there, then obnoxious it is, and these women will read it right off your sleeve.

Email Carolyn at tellme@washpost.com.