Main content

What's In a Name?

Helena Goodwyn interrogates the near universal practice of giving children their father’s - not their mother’s - surname. She and her husband plan to go against the trend.

Helena Goodwyn interrogates the near universal practice of giving children their father’s - not their mother’s - surname. She and her husband plan to buck the trend in a stand against structural inequality when their first baby is born. "We have the feminist movement to thank for many of the changes that have led us to our present moment, where broadly speaking, British society no longer stigmatises people based on whether they were conceived in or outside of marriage but in the case of cohabiting heterosexual couples the giving of the father's surname remains the norm."
Dr Helena Goodwyn is Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow in English Literature at Northumbria University.
Presenter: Olly Mann
Producer: Sheila Cook

Available now

20 minutes

Last on

Sun 21 Nov 2021 11:45

Broadcasts

  • Wed 9 Jun 2021 09:30
  • Wed 9 Jun 2021 20:45
  • Sat 12 Jun 2021 05:45
  • Fri 19 Nov 2021 19:00
  • Sun 21 Nov 2021 11:45

Download this programme

Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.

The Best of Four Thought

Explore some of the best programmes from Radio 4's Four Thought

Change a light bulb, check your emails...

What can you do in 4 minutes? Join us in some intelligent time wasting.

Seriously...

Seriously...

Discover seriously interesting documentaries from Radio 4.

Podcast