I’m now following your writing because this post rocks.
I’ve had so many names in my life that I suppose I consider them like skins. Skins I shed as I grow and evolve. My birth name changed when my mother divorced and remarried. I changed my first and middle names when I moved away to college, making the shift legal when I was sure they fit me as well as I wanted them to. I was married and divorced in my 20’s, and took my new husband’s name when we married after the birth of our son. Tingley was just too cool of a name option to pass up when I do massage professionally 😉
But you shed light on this very subtle continuation of the patriarchal practice of the ownership of women with this piece. It’s super lame. I recently got a holiday card from relatives addresses to the Mr. Nate Tingley family. As if the rest of us belong to him!!!
Good for you for keeping your name and for such a good reason. I wonder if I would have made the choices I have about what I am called if I had pondered the underlying reasons more carefully when I was younger.
Think I’m going to stick with my current moniker for the rest of my life. That is until my grandbabies choose to rename me in the future — if that comes to pass.
#onelove
