Editing Gender neutrality in English (section)

===Naming practices===
{{See also|Married and maiden names}}
Some critics oppose the practice of women changing their names upon marriage, on the grounds that it makes women historically invisible: "In our society 'only men have real names' in that their names are permanent and they have 'accepted the permanency of their names as one of the rights of being male.'... Essentially this practice means that women's family names do not count and that there is one more device for making women invisible."<ref>{{harvp|Spender|1980|p=24}}</ref> Up until the 1970s, as women were granted greater access to professions, they would be less likely to change their names, either professionally or legally; names were seen as tied to reputations and women were less likely to change their names when they had higher reputations.<ref>{{harvp|Stannard|1977|pp=164-166}}</ref> However, that trend was reversed starting in the 1970s; since that time, increasingly more women have been taking their husband's surname upon marriage, especially among well-educated women in high-earning occupations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/05/08/the-name-change-dilemma/ |title=The Name Change Dilemma - The Juggle |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 8, 2011 |author=Sue Shelenbarger |access-date=July 16, 2016}}</ref> Increasingly, studies have shown women's decisions on the issue are guided by factors other than political or religious ideas about women's rights or marital roles, as often believed.

The practice of referring to married women by their husband's first and last names, which only died out in the late 20th century, has been criticized since the 19th century. When the [[Reverend]] Samuel May "moved that Mrs Stephen Smith be placed on a Committee" of the [[National Women's Rights Convention]] in [[Seneca Falls (village), New York|Seneca Falls]], [[Lucretia Mott]] quickly replied: "Woman's Rights' women do not like to be called by their husbands' names, but by their own".<ref>Quoted in {{harvp|Stannard|1977|p=3}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]] refused to be addressed as "Mrs Henry B. Stanton".<ref>{{harvp|Stannard|1977|p=4}}</ref> The practice was developed in the mid-18th century and was tied to the idea of [[coverture]], the idea that "By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage."<ref>Henry Blackstone, ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', quoted in {{harvp|Stannard|1977|p=9}}</ref>

There is a tendency among scientists to refer to women by their first and last name and to men by their last name only. This may result in female scientists being perceived as less eminent than their male colleagues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2172515-calling-men-by-their-surname-gives-them-an-unfair-career-boost|title=Calling men by their surname gives them an unfair career boost|access-date=6 July 2018}}</ref>