I'm not yet sure if I'm going to hyphenate my last name when my bf and I get married or just stick with what I've got, and we'll likely have to ro-sham-bo or play a few rounds of Magic to decide who's name comes first 
. At least for my books though, I intend to keep my maiden name.
In eons past it was common to follow families matrilinealy as you could only be truly certain who the mother of a child was. I suspect that the switch to following the father's line rather than the mother's is one of the things that led to the strict and often abhorrent restrictions placed on women in regards to sex and marriage as a way to help ensure that the supposed father is the actual father, and because bloodlines were all important back then.
Personally I think matrilineal makes the most sense, not just because I'm a woman or out of anything against men, but because it just makes the most sense. DNA testing is still relatively new and not available everywhere and even where it is available not everyone can afford it. And without that test the only parent you can definitively know is the mother cause she's the one who gave birth to the child and was carrying the child. Even appearance isn't a sure fire determination.
granted in places where you have computers and digitized medical records and where legality and inheritance issues are dependant more on who's names are on the birth certificate rather than who's DNA you share that's really not as big of a deal and in truth I think it should be left up to each individual couple to decide for themselves.
Besides, as has already been brought up, if there were any mandate what would homosexuals do?
I don't know if there might be a better way to do it that would portray less of a dichotomy though, as eventually some last names are going to have to be dropped or filling out paperwork would become even more of a **** than it already is
. At least for my books though, I intend to keep my maiden name.In eons past it was common to follow families matrilinealy as you could only be truly certain who the mother of a child was. I suspect that the switch to following the father's line rather than the mother's is one of the things that led to the strict and often abhorrent restrictions placed on women in regards to sex and marriage as a way to help ensure that the supposed father is the actual father, and because bloodlines were all important back then.
Personally I think matrilineal makes the most sense, not just because I'm a woman or out of anything against men, but because it just makes the most sense. DNA testing is still relatively new and not available everywhere and even where it is available not everyone can afford it. And without that test the only parent you can definitively know is the mother cause she's the one who gave birth to the child and was carrying the child. Even appearance isn't a sure fire determination.
granted in places where you have computers and digitized medical records and where legality and inheritance issues are dependant more on who's names are on the birth certificate rather than who's DNA you share that's really not as big of a deal and in truth I think it should be left up to each individual couple to decide for themselves.
Besides, as has already been brought up, if there were any mandate what would homosexuals do?
I don't know if there might be a better way to do it that would portray less of a dichotomy though, as eventually some last names are going to have to be dropped or filling out paperwork would become even more of a **** than it already is
