A Personal Change?...

At a party this weekend, two recently engaged female friends discussed taking their husband’s surnames. Both plan to, although one will probably continue to use her own name at work, and the other will keep her last name as a middle name. I said nothing. Wouldn’t do it myself. Hate the tradition....

Never Mind the Bollocks (or the Patriarc...

The day after I wrote about Miss Manners’ takedown of a dude who consulted a woman’s father before asking her out, the UK’s Daily Mail ran an article–titled “Why Modern Men Shun The Tradition of Asking for a Woman’s Hand in Marriage”–confirming what most...

The Most Ridonkulous Op-Ed of 2010: Audr...

I'm glad I saved this image from the last time I posted about Audrey Irvine. When last I wrote about Audrey Irvine, author of the erstwhile CNN column “Relationship Rants”, she was blaming everyone from Beyonce to the US Census for the fact that no one respects unmarried relationships...

How Do You Learn Independence?...

grandma.of.a.lesser.god and her granddaughter.of.a.lesser.god I got the call just after noon on Saturday. My mom asked me how I was feeling (I had been sick almost all week) and if I was making progress on a final paper due on the 17th. It seemed to be a mundane conversation. Then she paused and said...

Why Do People Hate Betty?...

No, not this Betty. But speaking of her... Via cliff1066 @ Flickr.Now that we’ve decided to Talk About Mad Men here on Harpyness, I want to discuss Betty Draper a bit. Namely, how so many people seem to hate Betty more than any other character on the show. Most everyone will admit that...

Harpy Droppings: for Your Reading Pleasu...

Via don2g @ Flickr. Via Muslimah Media Watch, NOW Lebanon interviews Arab feminists Dr. Omaira Abou-Bakr and Hoda al-Saadi, after a conference for Arab women in Beirut. Both women are members of an Egyptian NGO called Women and Memory. An Amish woman has been charged with failing to report her husband’s...

Thinking of the children in our “p...

Swallow whatever you’re drinking right now because this one’s a doozy. A Louisiana justice of the peace refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple, citing their alleged short-lived unions and the pain it will inevitably cause their children. Surprise, surprise, JoP Keith...

From the Casefiles of Dr. O.B. Vious (De...

Gentle readers, I’m teeing up this recent Time magazine article for you not because I think it’s revelatory or infuriating. I’m sharing it with you for two reasons: A) The data and analysis it presents is good news for women, and we can always use more of that in our lives. B) I want...

When fat-hatred and the wedding industri...

Facebook needs a "dislike" function. CarrieP from Big Fat Blog sent me the story of 34 year old bride-to-be Samantha Clowe, who died of heart failure this summer after following the low-calorie LighterLife diet for 11 weeks. Said Clowe’s mother, “She said she wanted respect at...

If You Ain’t No Punk, Holler WE WA...

Congrats. Now cover your assets. Via BestPix Photography @ Flickr. I’ve just spent a couple weeks hanging out with friends who are getting married. It’s been fun, and I’m happy for them, but I’ve been surprised by how so many of them–perfectly intelligent, educated, successful...

What Confused Me On My Summer Vacation...

Baroo? Via pigpogm @ Flickr. I’m fairly certain that this will provoke somebody’s ire, but I’m going to put it out there anyway, and let slip the ring-bearing dogs of war. While we were visiting the fam, Sister Dude asked her brother if he would stand up for her at her wedding, which...

YOUR LAST NAME HERE! for only two months...

There’s been some buzz (and some headdesking) in the blogosphere re: this study, presented at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting, showing that 70% of Americans think women should take their husband’s last names when they get married, and 50% think it should be a...