force to do as bad as force to don't
Hear is a switch that got me laughing. A woman is actually fighting the law about what he last name should be after marriage. Nope, she doesn't want to retain her maiden name, she is actually fighting to take her husbands name. Talk about a switch huh? Usually when it comes to ladies fighting for last names, it usually means that they don't want to take the husband's last name. I can see their fears in that by losing their last name they essentially lose their identity of achievement and life and take on the role of a new person under the 'command' or 'ownership' of a new person. Could be similiar to the time our family got from a lady that was moving a middle aged cat named Fargo at the time. My mother didn't like the name so she renamed the cat Susie Q, though the rest of the family was more than happy to call the cat 'Farto'. So, talk about an identity crisis, is the cat's name Susie Q, Fargo or Farto? I wonder if that is how it is for women as well. I know I can not shrug off the fear as irrational considering I wouldn't even consider giving up my last name for that of my wife's.
I guess what it comes down to is not the fact of if you are forced to change your name, but that you are given the option of changing your name if you want to. I think that there is really no difference in telling a person that they have to do something one way or the other. If you say, like in Quebec "You have to keep your maiden name" is as bad as saying in other provinces "you have to take your husbands name". Whereas some women, who want to keep their name, might have rejoiced in the law saying they have to keep their name, others see it as the flip side of the oppression and forcing.
Though when it comes to the naming of the children, what happens. By the sounds of it women are taking the position that they carried the child for 9 months, therefore the child takes the female name. While the men might just take the position that the children have taken the name of the father for as long as people can remember, therefore the child should be named after the father. Too bad the law didn't see it that way and go "Fine, ladies, the child is totally yours completely in name and ownership. Men, you don't have to pay child support or help raising the children in the least. Go forth, be fruitful and knock up as many women as you can". Don't see that happening anytime soon though considering when it comes to paying and raising, the child is always 'ours' but when it comes to naming and ownership, it is usually 'womans'. Settling this problem of naming the children doesn't get any better with the solution of hyphenated names, as I have posted earlier in another blog (http://captcanuck.blogspot.com/2007/08/hyphenated-headaches.html).
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070810/quebec_marriage_laws_070810/20070810?hub=Canada
Newlywed wants option to take spouse's name
Updated Fri. Aug. 10 2007 11:14 AM ET
There are renewed calls for women to be allowed to take their husband's last name upon marriage in Quebec, with one Ontario-born newlywed challenging Premier Jean Charest to change the provincial law.
Quebec has prohibited women from taking their spouse's name since 1981, but many young women today want to have the choice to do so, family law experts say.
The Ontario-born Caroline Parent, who lives in Gatineau, is among those frustrated by the long-standing legislation. The 27-year-old lives in Quebec with her new husband Karl Lamirande, but was appalled when informed she could not take his last name.
"One day we're going to start a family and I would love to share the same name as my future children," she told CTV News.
Parent has written a letter to Charest demanding an explanation.
"I outlined the fact that I thought it wasn't fair that women in Quebec don't have a choice in the matter," she said.
When the marriage law was created, it was hailed as a triumph by feminists and equality rights activists.
"It was seen as extremely progressive at the time," said Robert Leckey, who teaches family law at McGill University.
"I don't think feminists of the day imagined that 25 years later people would be complaining that they don't have the choice to be traditional."
In other provinces, a woman can begin using her husband's name after marriage. Changing government documents is also an easy task with a provincial marriage certificate.
In Quebec, women are sometimes allowed to have their name changed, but the director of civil status must give approval. Reasons to grant the change include names that are difficult to spell or pronounce, or names that are mocked or that have been made infamous.
Young women want option
Parent is among a growing group of traditional and young women who want the choice to take their partner's name, says Maria Battaglia, an accredited family and international mediator and radio host.
"I'm very surprised that no one has raised the issue of the constitutionality of not giving a woman a right to choose whatever name they wish," she told CTV Newsnet.
"To my knowledge there was never any debate -- it was just given as a fact of Quebec life."
The civil law reform took place shortly after the creation of the Quebec Charter of Rights.
Battaglia says many women are contacting her to see how they can change their last names.
"What I tell people is on all your legal documents, use your maiden name ... but in all social settings -- your children's schools, even your credit cards, anything else you're doing -- you should be able to use your husband's name," she says.
"There is a choice in terms of what you're using socially but there are no options when it comes to legal recourse."
I guess what it comes down to is not the fact of if you are forced to change your name, but that you are given the option of changing your name if you want to. I think that there is really no difference in telling a person that they have to do something one way or the other. If you say, like in Quebec "You have to keep your maiden name" is as bad as saying in other provinces "you have to take your husbands name". Whereas some women, who want to keep their name, might have rejoiced in the law saying they have to keep their name, others see it as the flip side of the oppression and forcing.
Though when it comes to the naming of the children, what happens. By the sounds of it women are taking the position that they carried the child for 9 months, therefore the child takes the female name. While the men might just take the position that the children have taken the name of the father for as long as people can remember, therefore the child should be named after the father. Too bad the law didn't see it that way and go "Fine, ladies, the child is totally yours completely in name and ownership. Men, you don't have to pay child support or help raising the children in the least. Go forth, be fruitful and knock up as many women as you can". Don't see that happening anytime soon though considering when it comes to paying and raising, the child is always 'ours' but when it comes to naming and ownership, it is usually 'womans'. Settling this problem of naming the children doesn't get any better with the solution of hyphenated names, as I have posted earlier in another blog (http://captcanuck.blogspot.com/2007/08/hyphenated-headaches.html).
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070810/quebec_marriage_laws_070810/20070810?hub=Canada
Newlywed wants option to take spouse's name
Updated Fri. Aug. 10 2007 11:14 AM ET
There are renewed calls for women to be allowed to take their husband's last name upon marriage in Quebec, with one Ontario-born newlywed challenging Premier Jean Charest to change the provincial law.
Quebec has prohibited women from taking their spouse's name since 1981, but many young women today want to have the choice to do so, family law experts say.
The Ontario-born Caroline Parent, who lives in Gatineau, is among those frustrated by the long-standing legislation. The 27-year-old lives in Quebec with her new husband Karl Lamirande, but was appalled when informed she could not take his last name.
"One day we're going to start a family and I would love to share the same name as my future children," she told CTV News.
Parent has written a letter to Charest demanding an explanation.
"I outlined the fact that I thought it wasn't fair that women in Quebec don't have a choice in the matter," she said.
When the marriage law was created, it was hailed as a triumph by feminists and equality rights activists.
"It was seen as extremely progressive at the time," said Robert Leckey, who teaches family law at McGill University.
"I don't think feminists of the day imagined that 25 years later people would be complaining that they don't have the choice to be traditional."
In other provinces, a woman can begin using her husband's name after marriage. Changing government documents is also an easy task with a provincial marriage certificate.
In Quebec, women are sometimes allowed to have their name changed, but the director of civil status must give approval. Reasons to grant the change include names that are difficult to spell or pronounce, or names that are mocked or that have been made infamous.
Young women want option
Parent is among a growing group of traditional and young women who want the choice to take their partner's name, says Maria Battaglia, an accredited family and international mediator and radio host.
"I'm very surprised that no one has raised the issue of the constitutionality of not giving a woman a right to choose whatever name they wish," she told CTV Newsnet.
"To my knowledge there was never any debate -- it was just given as a fact of Quebec life."
The civil law reform took place shortly after the creation of the Quebec Charter of Rights.
Battaglia says many women are contacting her to see how they can change their last names.
"What I tell people is on all your legal documents, use your maiden name ... but in all social settings -- your children's schools, even your credit cards, anything else you're doing -- you should be able to use your husband's name," she says.
"There is a choice in terms of what you're using socially but there are no options when it comes to legal recourse."
posted by Capt_Canuck at 6:54 PM
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