Reply #50: As you may have read downthread, it doesn't matter to me, but

[Redstone]

if a woman just want to take her husband's name, it's not necessarily because she considers herself to be her husband's "property." Mrs R certainly doesn't.

But the one thing that used to make me nuts, even when I was a kid, was seeing a woman (like my mother) signing her name "Mrs John Smith." (Not that my father's name was John smith, but you get the idea.) Now, that format reeks of property. If a woman wants to sign her name "Mrs (hey, I'm married) Mary Smith," well fine and dandy (as far as I'm concerned). But the "Mrs John Smith" formats basically says "My identity is that I am John Smith's wife, and that's all I am."

I sure hope that form is dying out, because it makes me queasy. Not that I identify myself as a feminist or anything (boy, did I get beat up for saying that a while back), but damn, women need to treated (and to treat themselves) with respect and to have some dignity and individual identity.

Mrs R likes being Mrs (her first name) R, but damn if she'd sign anything "Mrs (my first name) Redstone." And if she did, I'd be having a little talk with her to get her to understand why she shouldn't.

Redstone