Men whose wives do not take their surname 'viewed as less masculine'

Men whose wives do not take their surname are viewed as less masculine by their peers, a new study has found.

Husbands are seen as disempowered and “higher in traits related to femininity” if their wife chooses not follow the marital tradition, according to research from the University of Nevada.

Meanwhile women who defy the surname tradition are perceived as powerful, ambitious and assertive.

The authors of the study carried out a series of online surveys on UK and US-based undergraduates who were asked to imagine a hypothetical scenario in which a heterosexual women had decided to keep her own surname after marrying.

The participants then had to answer questions on their opinion of the husband’s personality.

The first two studies showed that husbands whose wives keep their own surnames are seen as less powerful in the relationship, a contrast to gender-typical personality traits.

"A woman's marital surname choice therefore has implications for perceptions of her husband's instrumentality, expressivity, and the distribution of power in the relationship," said lead author Rachael Robnett.

"This study joins several others in alluding to a link between traditions in heterosexual romantic relationships and power structures favouring men," she added.

"The marital surname tradition is more than just a tradition. It reflects subtle gender-role norms and ideologies that often remain unquestioned despite privileging men."

The practice of a woman taking her husband’s name was widely adopted in the 17th century. Prior to this, a married woman was considered to lose her surname upon marriage and have no surname whatsoever.

The majority of women (59 per cent) would still “like to take their spouses surname upon marriage”, a YouGov poll found, while 61 per cent of men still want them to do so.

Fourteen per cent of women would want to keep their own surname, while just two per cent of women would have their spouse adopt their surname.

According to Robnett, people “high in hostile sexism” are more likely to respond negatively to women who “violate traditional gender roles”.

"Our findings show that they also apply stereotypes to non-traditional women's husbands,” she added.