Ms. Bite-Me

My mother and I have my father’s last name, as well as many other families across America and in the world carry on this little tradition. When a woman becomes married, she automatically becomes one of the “Smiths” or “Fongs” and leaves behind her own name. What am I speaking of? Ding-Ding! It’s your friendly neighborhood Patriarchy! That right there is just one example of an element of our patriarchal society. But I’ll elaborate more on the surnames. No, there isn’t a law that says you MUST have your husband’s name, but it’s a social norm to do so. Who the hell made it that way? I don’t know, but whoever you are, may you please get your puny ass over here so I can rip those little balls off? Thanks to you, our beautiful society is a one sided, male favoring piece of SHIT. Anyways, this whole decision is one that has oppressed the female sex for so long, an example being the loss of identity, the objectification and viewing of women as property, or just the plain old “change of self for one’s man” type deal. If I see another Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, I think I’m going to vomit. Doesn’t anybody see the injustice in having to go through all that and to just lose oneself in the process of this great thing known as marriage? Marriage is good. The oppression of women is bad. Simple as that. Marriage should be about the unification of two lovers, not the creation of an imbalance.

But that isn’t the only aspect of patriarchy. There’s that ridiculous idea that men must be the “man of the house” or the authoritative figure. And the one where women must be protected because they are so weak they can't fend for themselves. Of course there’s also the one where they get to be the gender that basically rules and sits their fat ass on the chair of important jobs, while being paid for their work…with the amount that women are supposed to receive when they do the same work. You know, you got your kings, presidents, and CEOs. Oh. Wait. They're actually happening.

Why do I have to live in such a place where this is a social norm? I can’t believe our society accepts such bullshit! We must see that this male dominance in so many aspects of LIFE is something that needs to be abolished. This system of patriarchy is so intricately weaved into our world. I’m so tired of it.

Maybe that hyphen in between your surname and your spouse’s surname does have some power. Break that mold and tradition of abiding to just giving up a part of yourself. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start and a perfect statement for something bigger to come. Maybe your descendants 4 generations from now will have about 5 hyphens LOL. Right now people just need to become aware of the problems that are hidden beneath the surface of the mold. Step out of that zone and realize, why have I been following this preposterous trend? Break that role as the passive female and take control of your life and family. Thousands of years of the same system isn’t going to change so simply. But we are capable of slowly breaking it down. Demand equality, and do it right!