J. Lo is now J. Aff. Here’s Why it Matters.

J. Lo (Photo by dvsross, CC-BY-2.0)

In an opinion piece in The New York Times, author Jennifer Weiner discusses the significance of marriage-related surname changes in America. Actress Jennifer Lopez’s decision to become “Jennifer Affleck” represents the majority attitude of American women toward marriage-related surname changes, Weiner writes, but it also coveys a longer tradition of historical power imbalance between men and women. Weiner argues that “Names confer identity. And married women continue to give theirs up, while married men rarely reciprocate. No matter what else changes, that power imbalance endures.”

Read more in The New York Times.