I will be the pattern of all patience; I will say nothing.

<rant>
I know I’ve not the most healthy regard for marriage, so this probably won’t sit well. But I think women should find better things to do with their time than take on their husbands’ surnames.

This would save them a lot of hassle at the Social Security office, the Passport office, the DMV (among other administrative offices). And this way, I don’t have to look at those double-whammy-hyphenated-surnames and roll my eyes.

Asian surnames are the absolute worst for that. Asians traditionally don’t take their husbands’ surnames either, but I’ve to say, there are some pretty resolute little folk who can live through indignities like Annabel Wang-Chung* or Belinda Tan-Toh* or (gulp) Hwang-Lee Poh Yee*.

And just when you think you’ve got the order right – ie: maiden name first followed by husband’s surname, noooo…. someone will go and change the damn order just so it sounds better. Like, dude. Totally. Uncool.

If you’ve really gotta do it, just go ahead and run the whole nine yards, right? Change it from Christina Fong* to Christina McGregor*. Yeah, you might not look like a McGregor, but it says so much less than Christina Fong McGregor* and sometimes less is really more. It’s not a case where you can hope to have your cake and eat it too.

Names are sometimes pretty important – I’m convinced most Daniels are pretty hawt and Walters are not – but surnames are social indicators more than anything. The subtle name-dropping-social-climbing is unbecoming. We’re better than that! We’re educated (and well at that), cosmopolitan, upwardly mobile, financially independant women of the information age. Surely we’re better than that.

* Names have been made up to protect the innocent – namely me.
</rant>