There are certain things in the world that defy all common sense. These things are just plain wrong and should never have been allowed to come into existence in the first place. Things like golden oreos, Title IX, epilators, communism, Keynesian economics, feminism, and of course hyphenated last names. Long before I found Vox Day and then later Roissy, I vowed that I would never marry a woman who a) refused to take my last name, or b) wanted to hyphenate her last name with mine.
Imagine my surprise when I found that there are actually men in the world who would willingly change their last names by hyphenating their last name with their wife’s. A sign of the apocalypse? Maybe. For whatever reason, when I run across a man who has added his wife’s name to his it makes me think of the Sam Kinison routine about marriage and what would happen if penises were detachable. Sam, in his best bitchy woman voice saying, “You won’t be needing this anymore!” as he mimics detaching a penis with the microphone.
I’ve only run into two men who have actually done this, so while it is deplorable, it is not that common….yet.
The first guy I know who did this was married to a friend of the LTR’s. The gal was a couple of years older than the boy she married. This gal could very well have been the first woman he ever dated and/or slept with. She corralled him shortly after she graduated from college and he still had a couple of years to go. All of the gal’s friends thought it was so romantic that she and her husband chose to take each other’s last names. As far as I know, none of the guys friends spoke up and told him he was a fucking idiot. The marriage didn’t end well. Surprise of surprises, he actually grew a pair and stepped out on this gal. Told her he didn’t love her and wanted a divorce so he could marry his true love. The ladies of course circled the wagons around their aggrieved friend. Any time the boy’s name was brought up their eyes would figuratively spit daggers.
The second guy I know who took his wife’s last name is an older gentleman in his 50′s. I believe he was married once before and that didn’t end well. His current wife is a good 15 years younger than he is, and as far as I know had never been married prior to meeting this guy. The two of them own their own retail business together so they spend a lot of time together. He’s a jovial guy most of the time. Friendly and easy to talk to. His wife always seems to be something of a sourpuss. He’s so easy going, I suspect he didn’t bat an eye when she said she was going to hyphenate her last name. I haven’t asked him whether taking her last name was his idea or hers. Either way, I can’t see that it matters much.
I’m sure that both these guys thought the were being gallant and egalitarian by adding their wife’s last name. Seriously, what couldn’t be more open minded than taking the name of another man’s family and appending your name to it?
