Earlier this week, the Associated Press published an article that stated, "Stephen King and his wife donate $1.25M to New England Historic Genealogical Society." See anything wrong with this headline?
Well Stephen and "his wife" Tabitha King did.
My wife is rightly pissed by headlines like this: “Stephen King and his wife donate $1.25M to New England Historic Genealogical Society.” The gift was her original idea, and she has a name: TABITHA KING. Her response follows.
And lemme tell ya, Tabitha's response was glorious. First, she kindly pointed out the part where editors had her f****d up: "Wife is a relationship or status. It is not an identity."
Dear Editors (married to a wife or a husband): In recent media coverage of a gift that my husband (ironic usage) and I made to the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, we became Stephen King and his wife. Wife is a relationship or status. It is not an identity.
Next up was a delightful ~read~, which comes as no surprise considering Tabitha is ALSO a published writer and novelist.
You could have made other choices. You could have referred to me as OfStephen. Or His Old Lady. Or His-Ball-And-Chain. I have sons. You could have referred to me as Mother-of-Novelists. I have a daughter but wouldn’t it be just silly to refer to me as Mother-of-Clergy?
She even joked that if she dies before "OfTabitha," then editors should title her obituary "Relick of Stephen King." But until then, "you might consider the unconscious condescension in your style book, and give women their names," Tabitha concluded.
I’m seventy. I thought I would give you permission, if “OfTabitha” predeceases me, to title my obituary, Relick of Stephen King. In the meantime, you might consider the unconscious condescension in your style book, and give women their names.
GO OFF, TABITHA!!!!!!!
Twitter was here for every bit of Tabitha's response. Some folks thanked her for breaking down the issue...
@StephenKing Thank you TABITHA- educate! We are people,we are not just wife! My name is Kathy not just Brian wife!
...while others proposed alternative edits to the headline.
@StephenKing “Authors Stephen and Tabitha King.” Doesn’t even take longer to say.
Tabitha's tweets really resonated with people, like user @arbpen who said that being reduced to a daughter, wife, and mother "makes [women] kind of lose [their] identity"...
@StephenKing Yup, when I was a little girl, I was "Chuck's daughter", then "Doug's wife", then "Spane's mom" . It makes you kind of lose your identity in a way. Names really are powerful.
...and @iamaxian who recalled her great grandmother's tombstone, which reads "Mrs. John Lee."
@StephenKing This is the tombstone my great grandmother lies under for all eternity. I never had the privilege of knowing her but, if I ever have the opportunity, I'm changing that damn tombstone. Her name, dammit, was Percis Susan Hulsey Lee.
A few folks also noted how the book and Oscar-nominated film The Wife addressed this ongoing issue of married women being reduced to their marital status.
@StephenKing The film The Wife talks about this. Thank you for bringing it to people’s attention. Each of us has a separate, unique identity.
IN CONCLUSION, WHAT A WAY TO KICK OFF THEIR WIVES HISTORY MONTH, AMIRITE?
