Why I'll hyphenate.

I just watched Christina Applegate on Jimmy Kimmel Live. I don't have much interest in Christina, the movie she was promoting (3D kiddie flick), or Jimmy. But I was hoping I could get a story out of it, and I did. (I can make anywhere from $1 to $60 on one celebrity fluff story. I'll watch a little Jimmy Kimmel for the possibility of making $60.)

Christina is pregnant with her first child, and Jimmy asked what she'd be doing with the baby's last name. Would she give the kid her name, hyphenate, etc.?

The look on her face when he asked that question was absolutely priceless. It reminded me of the look on Foster's face when Gretchen, our Boxer, passes gas ... pure disgust. Christina said "no", then stuttered a bit, before finally getting out that she doesn't believe in "that". Ok, fair enough. Everyone has the right to their beliefs, even if their beliefs are antiquated and misogynistic.

The last name conundrum was always a huge source of contention between my ex and I. We would get in heated arguments when I told him that I didn't plan on ever taking a man's last name. Because I, believing myself to be as important and significant as the man in my life, don't plan on changing my last name just because I've become legally bound to another person. And don't think it doesn't irk me from time to time that my last name comes only from my father, because it does. But, it's the name I was given and what I've known for all my 29 years, so I'm keeping it. (Unless I decide to change it to something badass like Von D or something.)

When I have kids, I want them to take on a part of me in their name. I love the idea of my child, my little mini-me, being a hyphenate. Their name will refer to not just their father, but their mother, too. Is a little recognition too much to ask?

Yes, this will lead to a few pain in the ass situations later in their life. What happens when my kid gets married, or has a kid of their own? They'll have some decisions to make. And I'm okay with that. But they'll grow up knowing they have two last names because they have two parents who are equals.