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RENO, Nevada — What’s in a last name? Muscle, apparently. Men married to women who opt to keep their maiden names after tying the knot are often viewed as less masculine and lacking pants in the relationship, according to researchers.
The 2017 study out of the University of Nevada involved three related studies in the United States and United Kingdom. Study authors were hoping to learn how a woman’s decision to keep her last name affected how others perceived her husband.
The researchers’ first two studies found that whenever a husband’s last name differed from that of his wife’s, he was frequently described in ways that both deemphasized his masculinity and overemphasized any feminine characteristics.
Meanwhile, previous research has shown that wives who shun the time-tested naming tradition enjoy a number of benefits, including higher social status and perception of power, along with increased self-focus, ambition, and assertiveness.
These qualities run counter to older, rigid portrayals of women, which depict them as kind and nurturing, yet powerless, the researchers note.
“A woman’s marital surname choice therefore has implications for perceptions of her husband’s instrumentality, expressivity, and the distribution of power in the relationship,” says Rachael Robnett, the study’s lead author, in a journal release. “Our findings indicate that people extrapolate from marital surname choices to make more general inferences about a couple’s gender-typed personality traits.”
Robnett’s third study showed that men who held steadfast beliefs on traditional gender roles showed increased prejudice against husbands who didn’t share their last name with their spouse, seeing him as disempowered.
“We know from prior research that people high in hostile sexism respond negatively to women who violate traditional gender roles,” she explains. “Our findings show that they also apply stereotypes to nontraditional women’s husbands.”
While societal change benefiting women has continued at a steady pace, many feminists still wonder when women will no longer be expected to take on their husband’s surname, which they regard as an obsolete practice.
“The marital surname tradition is more than just a tradition,” Robnett argues. “It reflects subtle gender-role norms and ideologies that often remain unquestioned despite privileging men.”
The study’s findings are published in the journal Sex Roles.
Paper Summary
Methodology Breakdown
The researchers conducted three interconnected studies to explore their hypotheses. In the first study, 139 U.S. college students were asked to describe a man whose wife kept her surname after marriage, with their responses coded into various categories. The second study involved 72 adults in the UK who were randomly assigned to read about a couple where the wife either changed her name or kept her own, then rated the husband on masculine/feminine traits and relationship power. The third study followed a similar experimental design with 144 U.S. college students, but also included a measure of hostile sexism to examine how participants’ attitudes influenced their ratings.
Results
The studies consistently showed that when a wife kept her own name, her husband was perceived as less masculine/instrumental, more feminine/expressive, and as having less power in the relationship. These effects were most pronounced among participants with more sexist attitudes. In the first study, about half of the participants described the husband using feminine traits. The second and third studies demonstrated statistically significant differences in how the husband was perceived based on his wife’s surname choice.
Limitations
While insightful, the studies had several limitations. They relied on hypothetical scenarios rather than real couples, and participants had limited information about the couples beyond the name choice. The samples were not fully representative of the general population, and the research focused only on heterosexual couples. Additionally, the complex, multifaceted nature of power in relationships was measured using a simplified approach.
Key Takeaways
The research suggests that marital naming traditions both reflect and potentially reinforce traditional gender roles and power dynamics. Breaking with the surname tradition can lead to stereotyping of both women and men, with sexist attitudes amplifying negative perceptions of men whose wives keep their names. The pressure to conform to masculine norms may help explain the persistence of the surname tradition. These findings have implications for couples making surname decisions and reveal subtle mechanisms through which gender inequality is maintained in society.
Funding/Disclosures
The researchers did not report any specific funding sources for this study. They acknowledged Paul Nelson for providing feedback on an earlier draft and Desiree Melton for assistance with coding. No conflicts of interest were disclosed in relation to the research.
Note: This article was first published November 27, 2017.
only reason women keep their maiden name is so old boyfriends can look them up on Facebook.
Is it any wonder, then, why the growing interest in sex robots?
A lot less drama, for sure!
Drudge and conservative men are obsessed with sex robots because they can’t get laid the normal way.
Yes MS (((Steingold))), women taking their husbands name is definitely “privileging men.” Did you wear your “This is What a Feminist Looks Like” shirt as you wrote this drivel?
There is usually some sexual gratification involved when it comes to decisions like these.
Why should a wife abandon the name she’s used her entire life, and more than a husband abandon his? Professionally, my wife still uses her maiden name. Personally, she usually uses my surname. After a couple of months, nobody even noticed any more. I don’t give a rat’s ass how it’s “viewed”. Marriage isn’t a matter of last names. In all honesty, I might have a slight an issue if she ALSO refused to wear a wedding ring.
because ..it is HER FATHER’S name ..not her name
women do NOT have ‘names’ only MEN do
Isn’t this a favorite practice of the progressive power elite? Especially those in academia.
What’s the big deal? My wife is an executive professional who makes 3x the money I make. Her name is known within her career field.. I encouraged her to keep her name. Changing the name is an antique tradition based on the notion that women are chattel. Wtf do I care what other people think about it? I work hard. She works hard. We’re 15 years together and going strong. We take care of each other and there’s no gender confusion. She cooks, cleans, fixes stuff, assembles furniture, etc. and I do to. A wife is not property. Keep her happy and you’ll be all the happier for it. It pays dividends. It’s like being rich. All the goodness just flows right back to you.
your panties are showing
Your insecurity is showing.
i see your tampons
everyone is mocking you
Yeah well I’ll be getting into some panties tonight…to get her out of them. After she makes my dinner.
yet YOU are the one wearing them….
you gay?
your wife can take your name and STILL make 3x what you make..
what you FAIL to understand is that HER name is not her’s ..it belongs to her FATHER
you are allowing HER FATHER to hold power over you in YOUR marriage
He was a great man. Vietnam vet. Homicide detective. Served his country and community his whole life. The only power he ever wielded was to pay for our wedding. She’s a daddy’s girl. I like daddy’s girls.
all irrelevant…you are NOW the WIFE of your husband….are you ashamed?
are you hoping you ex-boyfriends can still find you on facebook?
are you planning a divorce in a couple of years?
you seem dumb and unstable
So you have a family unit where everyone has one name and your wife still identifies as her father’s daughter instead of your wife and your childrens’ mother…. And you don’t see where the disconnect is? I once knew a girl who married a guy who was a paraplegic. She insisted that the lack of intimacy that would exist in that marriage wouldn’t be an issue for her… 3 years later she left him for a guy she had gotten into an affair with….
I guess it’s simpler because we have no children and never wanted any. We’ve worked to prevent having children. It’s insanely awesome to not live in the world of the morons in this comment thread. Nobody needs alpha males anymore. Not everybody cheats and lies. A successful marriage is based on friendship. People get old. Bodies droop and sag. Looks fade. If that’s what you base attractiveness on, you’re doomed. My wife will serve me dinner. I’ll make her morning coffee. She’ll do the bills while I put a new starter in her truck. What the hell use would she have for some knuckle-dragging troglodyte? We laugh at those guys when we go shooting. The smaller the willie the bigger the gun.
Can’t be true. My wife kept her name and she told me I could keep wearing pants. ….wait a minute!!!
It wasn’t her name, it was her dad’s name.
i see what you did there
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
AHAHAH I DONT BLAME THE WOMEN AT ALL, FREAKING SOY BOYS, AHAHAHAHAHA
BARF on all of it.
Ever since Eve women have been out of control.
Men screw things up badly enough without the women helping.
‘Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.’
Stay at home and be an anchor for your husband, be a homemaker, raise your children, and guess what?
You will find happiness.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
that would be great….if you can afford to do so….
this has nothing to do with earning money……in fact MOST of the family wealth earned will come MANY…..MANY years after you first get married….
today….a new house (here in California at least) costs about $750K…if the average age of a newly married couple is 26 …there are few jobs that a single income household can obtain that will afford you a house here in my neighborhood …. you need 2 incomes ..at least for a few years
Perhaps.
However, I did it. Here is how: First I PRAYED. I asked, among other things, that He provide an income sufficient that my wife to be (I hadn’t even met her yet) not have to work outside the home, sufficient to pay for that home. I asked He send me a woman who wanted to stay home and be my homemaker, lover, wife and mother to my children.
He made me wait 8 years, but everything was delivered. All this is sunny SoCal.
Truly God has blessed me.
i waited 45 years ..and still needed 2 incomes
God blesses each according to His will.
How long ago was that? 1965?
i wonder if this study included whether or not this “man” was raised by a mother only ..or lived in a household with a father
i bet this is obvious as well
So, the new wife keeps her father’s name instead of taking her husband’s? That’s makes her a strong woman, to keep her father’s name?
Just not the Christian thing to do. IMHO
Marriage is a holy covenant between a man, a woman, and God.
not a MAN thing to do
Jews do this too…..
this is not about Christianity…it is about being a MAN
or a marriage between a man and a sexbot
“The marital surname tradition is more
than just a tradition,” Robnett argues. “It reflects subtle gender-role
norms and ideologies that often remain unquestioned despite privileging
men.” ~~~ I think I’d change my name to his just to spite this stupid little left wing brain donor. So sick of the male privilege bullshit. And I’m a woman!
Well…Duh…
how is keeping her name even on the table?
It’s not that hard to figure out. A women who keep her maiden name or hyphenates it is simply hedging her bets.
TRUE…then…..why marry her then…..
my point is …..you, as a man… take it off the table ….like fidelity …and joint finances…you will NOT be married to me if you do not do
a….b….c…
p*ssy is a powerful thing. Some guys are willing to deal with their lack of testosterone to get it.
there is PLENTY of FISH out there
The pussification of America continues. In other news, Feminists have a higher rate of suicide, depression and godlessness.
Sounds fair enough — they can have a good cry then get off the planet. They already live in the darkness, might as well go all in.
Next thing you’ll tell us is beta cucks like to be pegged by their wife after she’d finished getting reamed by Tyrone’s BBC.