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Full-Text Articles in Family Law
A Married Woman's Surname: Is Custom Law?, Julia C. Lamber
A Married Woman's Surname: Is Custom Law?, Julia C. Lamber
Articles by Maurer Faculty
A general awakening of concern for the rights of women has occurred in recent years, and with it the particular problems of married women have been analyzed against a background of centuries of legal and social assumptions. With the impetus of employment discrimination legislation, the proposed equal rights amendment, and litigation raising sex discrimination issues, it is not surprising that many women are actively seeking to retain their pre-marriage names. This movement compels us to re-examine the custom that a woman must assume her husband's surname upon marriage. That such a phenomenon is custom and not law deserves our attention …