From Christine Lagarde to Jennifer Lopez. Why do some powerful women use their husband's last name?

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J

moves him when in his speeches he talks about the emotional

and

that women experience, when he boasts of his

or rises up remembering everything he has worked to be where he is, creating storms and raising dust.

Suddenly, the pop diva calls herself Ms. Jennifer Lynn Affleck and her feminist homily is torn to shreds.

What need does she have to

of her new husband,

Social networks are on fire since she announced her new signature.

In the United States, about

take

when they marry.

In the UK, almost 90%.

There is no legal imperative, but a deep-rooted custom that is repeated in much of Western Europe.

Neither feminism nor gender awareness nor the collapse of patriarchal models have managed to make this tradition lose strength.

Powerful with the surname of another

It is paradoxical that the phenomenon repeats itself when naming the most powerful women on the planet.

director of the International Monetary Fund, uses the surname of her first husband,

from whom she separated 30 years ago.

ex-wife of the Microsoft co-founder, not only keeps it in second place, but also announced it as a kind of trophy as part of her separation and property division agreement.

There we have

a lawyer, the first African American to hold the position of first lady of the United States and a brand new guru thanks to her naturalness and gift of oratory.

The surname by which she is known?

, her husband's.

Or

who led the German chancellery for 16 years, breaking any glass ceiling.

Her figure helped a new conception of women in politics and in social and domestic life.

She promoted her rights and took initiatives on her behalf.

Despite that charisma that came from her birth, her name,

changed to Angela Merkel when she married her first husband,

whom she met in Moscow when she was 23 years old.

Ella was the custom of the time in her country and it was the surname with which she became known in the political world.

That's why she kept him even after her divorce.

Pure logistics.

Her second husband, the chemist

with whom she has been in a relationship for more than three decades, always remained in a very discreet background.

Her wish, like that of the former chancellor, was to keep each one of them with her own name.

Spain is different

Spain

does not follow this pattern.

Neither does

,

or

.

In the countries that do, British researcher

finds two reasons.

The first, the pressure, silent but persistent, of patriarchal power.

The second, a kind of pride, when the bride joins the paternal family as one more member, which is symbolized in that shared surname.

Despite its apparent romantic tone, deep down, according to this professor, the original idea of ​​the father who gives up his daughter on her wedding day prevails.

Breaking this practice could be interpreted as a lack of commitment.

This narrative could have its days numbered.

11% of young British people are choosing to use a compound surname when they marry.

So do many American couples or even, if necessary, settle any argument by inventing a new one.

This type of request increased by 30% in 2021. Any originality in the nomenclature drives some wealthy officials in the old habit of the male surname upside down, but they are beginning to get used to it.

Newlyweds

and

are an example of the force of habit breaking down.

The spouses have decided to add their surnames to their names and make it clear on their social networks: 'Mr.

& Mrs. Peltz Beckham', Victoria and David's firstborn wrote on his Instagram profile.

Unlike her daughter-in-law, the British designer keeps the soccer player's, like many other celebrities.

would be

her first name, if she hadn't taken her first husband's name

And the prestigious lawyer

would continue to be

her identity before she married George.

'Semi-detached' surnames

The caution with which this transition is taking place is striking.

The newlyweds are reluctant to erase their names, but attach their partners' names.

This is the case of the model

now also Bieber as part of her last name after her marriage to

The same thing was decided by the Hindu model

when she married

or

adopted this same formula, justifying themselves in the popularity of their respective stage names.

It is still shocking in women who championed the #Me Too movement.

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