In Honor of Valentine's Day: The Plight of the Married Lady

Dallas' public radio station, KERA, recently ran a pledge drive, and I finally pledged. I've been a regular listener for a while now -- in fact, I consider popping in a CD every once in a while, but I have a panic attack at the thought of what I might miss if not listening to NPR. It's kind of nuts, considering I've started having panic attacks due to some of the things they regularly talk about on NPR (a running series seems to focus on people who've been unemployed FOR YEARS -- my poor heart can't take it). Alas, however, I'm probably doomed to panic attacks over some such thing for the rest of my life. I deal. And I gave to my local NPR station because I listen all the time. They finally guilted me into it.

And then they promptly shat all over my good graces.

I filled out the donation form using my name -- Nan Kirkpatrick -- as the primary contact. Actually, I was technically the only contact. And I gave them my personal checking account information. Sean (my husband) and I do have a joint checking account, but he was donating from his own funds. We're modern like that. So, so far I've given them my name and my personal checking account information. Then I saw a small, not required space for "Name of Spouse." I put "Sean Kirkpatrick." Looking back, this was my big mistake. At the time, however, I thought nothing of it. I'm a good test taker, I guess -- I don't leave anything blank.

A couple of weeks went by, and I got my membership information in the mail. What I saw turned my blood to ice. The envelope was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Sean Kirkpatrick.

I was livid. Absolutely aghast. Completely at a loss for words. I'd taken the time to give those...those...assholes my hard earned money -- money that I, NAN Kirkpatrick, put in a lot of effort to obtain -- and I didn't even receive recognition except as a "Mrs." Heck, Sean received first-name recognition, and based on my knowledge of the world, my paycheck, personal bank account, and time do not belong to him. He didn't have anything to do with the giving of that money. He was a not required blank. He was, in this instance, an afterthought.

He also seemed a little at a loss when I was ranting about the situation. I know. This is not something that on the surface seems like a big deal to dudes, and I cannot say that I blame them. They walk through life knowing that if they put their spouses name in the not required blank, the envelope will always come addressed to them...and some unnamed other. They know that if they give THEIR MONEY to an entity, the entity will not then treat them like a possession, a mere Mr. to someone else's Mrs. And that reminds me...I always fill out forms as "Ms." Those jerks couldn't even get that part right.

Throughout history, women have been barred from financial independence. Actual laws kept women dependent on men for financial stability. I cherish my right to earn my own money and keep it where I please. And I don't appreciate the societal standard trampling all over common sense -- it should've been obvious that I was the one to be thanked based on my name being the primary contact alone -- to keep from me what I am owed: KERA's gratitude for my fucking money.

I sent them an email letting them know how I felt. I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember that it ended with, "This is 2012. Get with the program." They still haven't responded. And I'm still livid whenever I think about it. I'm livid because it's just a very obvious reminder that I am not even considered an equal partner in my own marriage by society, let alone as a complete and separate individual.

Happy Valentine's Day!