Sunday, January 22, 2006

Why I Changed My Name

Hi. I just wanted to clarify why I changed my name for my feminist professional friends, since I've been enduring a fair amount of teasing on the subject... :)
  1. I can't very well hyphenate. Can you imagine how bad Wilson-Olson would be? Very bad indeed.
  2. It would be really confusing to have Wilsons and Olsons in the same house. People would still call me "Celia Olson," and they'd get confused and call Keith "Keith Wilson." Annoying, yes? Changing my name simplifies social matters for both of us.
  3. I really don't feel that changing my name is degrading myself. I'm sure if I made a big enough stink, Keith would take my name. I love him and I can trust him not to look down on me because I'm a woman. He respects me, and I respect him.
  4. I also don't feel that I am losing any professional status by changing my name. Those who matter will remember my first name which is unique enough. Furthermore, I doubt too many people will notice that I changed my last name, since it's really not all that different...