Hi Polycarp...

Sorry, I don't know of any Norm's in my family, I know some of my extended family lives in Melbourne (Im in Sydney) but I'm not sure of their names :-(

As for runner- honestly, your views are horrendously outdated, parochial and insulting to women. I feel sorry for any women who have the misfortune of being associated with you.

Dear Ninaf,

It is telling that you only saw 'runner's comment as being offensive to women. What about 'TurnRightThenLeft's comment where she suggested that women who took their husbands names were "docile wives"? I think there would be a great many wives who would find that suggestion equally offensive.

I guess since your alleged bashing in a Hunter's Hill park you only now see out of one eye...the obsessed feminist one.

Roscop- I did not respond to the remark about "docile" wives, as I felt my article covered that when I wrote that there are many strong, assertive women who have taken their husbands names who do not feel as though their identities have been compromised or subsumed.

As for your gutless reference to the assault on me, I suggest you grow up and learn to argue with facts and ideas, not baseless assertions- and for the record i was a seasoned feminist well before the assault. Also your snide use of the word "alleged" is offensive and in fact its because of people like you who cast doubt on the veracity of victims' claims which makes it so difficult for individuals to speak out about their ordeals. perhaps one day your mother/ sister/ wife/ daughter will be raped and will confide in you. I'm sure then you would not refer to it as being an "alleged" assault, particularly if she were covered in blood and brusing as I was.

Gutless

Thanks for your article Nina. Just to add a little more diversity (or complexity) here's our family's story. When we married my wife retained her surname (and being a simpler name we use that to order take away). However, when our son was born she asked if he could take her surname. After some thought I happily agreed. Now it's going to cause some confusion I'm sure but for vaild and thoughtful reasons this was important to her. I find it fascinating that taking on another's name can seem so significant to the sustainability of relationship as suggested by another post. It would seem to me that being able to see past names to allow the focus to be on the relationship is a greater sign of maturity.

Roscop

TRTL merely mentioned "docile" wives. He (yep, he) was answering your inflammatory question in such a way as not to jump headlong into the gender war it appears you wish to promote.

Your personal comment to Nina was both crass and deliberately provocative.

So what is your purpose here?

It is obviously not to contribute to what could be quite a whimsical and amusing thread utilising word-play. Have you anything relevent to contribute concerning the actual article or are we all expected to jump once more onto the tired old bandwagon of anti-feminism simply because ...Ping! the f word appeared and, like a laboratory rat, your conditioned response is to assign roles and try to persuade people to react for your personal gratification?

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.

I'm not sure why anyone needs to give up their name. My wife kept her own name and I kept mine. Our daughter has my surname, with a first name from her maternal great-great-grandmother and a middle name from her paternal grandmother. The only downside is that I sometimes get called Mr K, but my ego can handle these blows.

Polycarp says "Is it not true that all of our identity as people is tied up in our family history and personal place in that network?" I don't know that ALL our identity comes from family Polycarp, though family is important. What about friends, work, life experience, education, politics or even (dare I say it) religion?

runner says "Unfortunately to (sic) many males have been emasculated by this feminist crap." Do you really believe the trash you post runner, or are you just a troll?