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Journalist Pete Iorizzo writes in the Albany Times Union that he and his new wife weren't able to deposit wedding checks made out to "Mr. and Mrs. Pete Iorizzo" because their local Bank of America branch couldn't accept that his wife is who she says she is. Though the newlyweds were willing to produce a marriage certificate, a bank clerk informed them that since the bride kept her name, "Mrs. Peter Iorizzo does not exist." The situation was solved by driving to another Bank of America location, where amazingly, the teller had heard of this newfangled practice of brides keeping their last names. More »
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Four women and one of their husbands filed a lawsuit yesterday in Tokyo to challenge the law that forces almost all Japanese women to take their husband's last name, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Japan's Civil Code, which was written in 1898, requires that married couples share the same last name. It's extremely unusual for a man to take his wife's name, unless she's from a noble family. More »
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Jeebus! According to a new study half of female respondents say that - wait for it - women should be mandated by the government to take their husband's name. We are...troubled by this: More »
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When Michael Buday married Diana Bijon, he decided he wanted to take her last name. "It was personal. I feel much closer to (Diana's) father than I do mine... I never imagined the state would make it so difficult," he says. It took a $350 fee, court appearances, a public announcement and mounds of paperwork to have his name changed on his driver's license. California and some 40 other U.S. states have no place on the marriage license application or drivers license for the groom to choose the bride's surname. Michael took his case to the ACLU and a lawsuit led to a new California state law: Married couples and registered domestic partners can now choose whichever last name they prefer on their marriage and driving licenses. Says the ACLU's Mark Rosenbaum: "This disposes of the rule in California that the male surname is the marital name to the same trash bin where dowries were once tossed out." Baby steps! Now if we could get rid of the term "maiden name"... [Reuters] More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=387521&view=rss&microfeed=true In something we never thought we would find ourselves saying, it seems that the state of Georgia is against traditional marriage customs. Women across the state are having their driver's licenses canceled as a result of having their married names printed on them, as opposed to their maiden names, which appear on their social security cards. Different names on social security card and license = no license. As a native Georgian, this Jezebel never ceases to be amazed at what The Peach State deems "logic." [AJC] More »
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