Uh, exactly why is this a dilemma?

Exactly why is this a dilemma? And why on earth would it have "nothing to do with women's rights?" A woman's choice to change her surname is deeply ingrained into our culture, and carries a stigma regardless of whether or not you do our do not do so. A better question would be--why are so many women changing their names legally and using a "stage name" professionally? Why would women put themselves through so much confusion on a daily basis, when simply keeping one's name and hyphenating the kid's names will solve the problem? The answer is simple--because many modern women do not want to be associated with the heavily-vilified term "feminist". Their image of themselves and their lives does not fit with the stereotypes of feminism they have learned. Concern for the "last names of the children" are usually an easy answer--I've yet to see a man struggle over whether or not to change his name for the "sake of the children" or whether or not to hyphenate it because of his career.

The Name Change Dilemma

by Sue Shellenbarger
Friday, May 13, 2011

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More women are taking their new husbands' names after marriage, research shows. But the decision continues to spark debate and confusion.

The trend toward women keeping their maiden names after marriage peaked in the 1990s, when about 23% of women did so, then eased gradually to about 18% in the 2000s, says a 35-year-study published in 2009 in the journal Social Behavior and Personality. And increasingly, studies show women's decisions on the issue are guided by factors other than political or religious ideas about women's rights or marital roles, as often believed....

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112736/name-change-dilemma-women-marriage-wsj?mod=family-love_money