'Changing your name after marriage is an option - but I wish Jennifer Lopez wasn't'
Some 19 years after canceling the much-anticipated 2003 ‘wedding of the century’, Ben Affleck and Jenifer Lopez made something formally official over the weekend, tying the knot at the Vegas Little White Wedding Chapel.
However, while the nineties baby was celebrating Bennifer 2.0’s big day, feminists around the world – myself included – sighed sadly when news broke that JLo had officially changed her surname to Affleck.
The singer signed it at JLo newsletter on Sunday evening (17 July), with: “With love, Mrs Jennifer Lynn Affleck.”
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed watching the two relive their fairytale romance – after all, we’ve needed some positive news these past few years – but does Jennifer really need to change the elements that define her identity to prove her love? Especially since he’s actually spent the last three decades building his JLo brand?
I’m not so sure… and neither are the fans.
“I can’t believe JLo took Ben’s last name wtf?” one person tweetedwith others add: “Jennifer Lopez actually changed her surname omg she didn’t even bother to dash.” The third fan chimed in on the conversation with“Why doesn’t he change his name to Ben Lopez??”
And it’s not just fans who feel confused, but fellow celebrities too. “Changing your name doesn’t make much sense to me,” tweeted comedian and actor Katherine Ryan. “But makes ALL ZERO SENSE when your name is Jennifer Lopez.”
Of course, the flip side of this argument is that true feminism means every woman has the freedom to make her own choices – including JLo. But that no its autonomy in deciding to change its name is debated here, it is a deeply patriarchal society that has made this sexist tradition the norm. A short history lesson in…
The practice of a wife taking her husband’s name dates back to the 11th century, when women were seen as property to be owned by men. Under secrecy laws, a woman’s identity is “covered” by her husband which means her identity is essentially wiped out. Not only that, but under common English law, women have virtually no rights and husbands have complete control, both legally and financially.
But it’s not just far when such parameters are placed on women. In fact, until the 1970s, women in England could not apply for a passport, driver’s license, or even register to vote unless they used their husband’s surname. Even though by 2022 the tradition of taking a male surname no longer forbids a woman from owning her own property (among other things), I can’t shake the idea that the core message is still there: her identity is no longer hers.
Of course, JLo is such a huge star that it’s unlikely that her celebrities will be negatively affected by this change (though, what do we call her now – JAff?). But it sends a very questionable message to her female fans – one that goes against the feminist ideals we are used to associating with her.
And no, changing your name to your husband’s doesn’t make you a ‘bad feminist’, but rather highlights the husband, who continues to benefit from the patriarchal structure. Personally, I think Ben Affleck being Ben Lopez would make a pretty positive declaration of love and support that women need now more than ever.
When asked by a TV presenter in 2003 if she would become JAff after marrying Ben, Jennifer replied: “It doesn’t have the same ring, but you have to make sacrifices!”
And of course, life is about making sacrifices – but (in JLo’s own words) Isn’t That Funny? how for some reason that sacrifice, more often than not, ended up being taken by the woman?
Cosmopolitan UK has reached out to Jennifer Lopez’s representative for comment.
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