Zoe Saldana further defends husband’s choice to take her last name

Zoe Saldana is standing by her man and his decision to appropriate her last name as his own.

The "Nina" star recently revealed that Italian artist Marco Perego added "Saldana" to his name after they wed in 2013. Although it wasn't a big deal to him, the revelation appeared to be a big deal to a lot of other people.

Saldana shared the personal detail in her July cover story for InStyle, saying that she tried to persuade the former soccer player not to do it and warned him that he'd be emasculated by his community of artists, his Latin community of men and the world. But he told her he didn't care and she shouldn't either.

"Marco looks up at me and says [in his Italian accent], 'Ah, Zoe, I don't give a sheet,'" she told the mag.

Humbled and proud of my @Instylemagazine cover - I love it! Thank you to everyone who made this possible. ------- ~Sumamente orgullosa y contenta con mi cover de @InStyleLA - Gracias a todos los que formaron parte de esta edicio¿ #agradecida #Instylemagazine

A photo posted by Zoe Saldana (@zoesaldana) on Jun 4, 2015 at 5:24pm PDT

That attitude held on Monday, when the actress took to Facebook to offer a candid explanation about their unorthodox decision.

The "Avatar" alum defended her husband's choice and asked men why they were so afraid of taking their partner's name.

"Fathers, sons, brothers, men everywhere: Your legacy will not perish if you take your partner's surname, or she keeps hers," Saldana wrote. "I've been made aware that a comment I made regarding my marriage has garnered some attention. I felt proud that my husband decided to take my last name as his own... and I his. I shared my hesitation with him when he told me about his decision ... he also asked me, 'Why not? What are you so afraid of?' And it made me wonder... What am I so afraid of?"

MORE: Zoe Saldana's husband takes her last name, she gushes about their twins

The 37-year-old pondered why it is so "surprising, shocking-eventful" when a man takes his wife's surname.

"Women have never been asked if its ok for them to give up their names — why doesn't that make the news? Men, you will not cease to exist by taking your partner's surname. On the contrary — you'll be remembered as a man who stood by change. I know our sons will respect and admire their father more because their father lead by example," the mother of twins continued.

The actress then implored gentleman to think outside the box and/or "remove the box altogether."

"Let's redefine masculinity. A real 'man' leads along side his partner. A real man accepts his mortality. A real man acknowledges that nothing can be done alone," she said, hoping that the buzz behind the topic "isn't just for gossip" but rather an "inspiration for us all to look within and see what is truly important."

The progressive star said people should start "by letting go of some of the limitations we have inherited from the past, and forge a new path moving forward."

Reactions to her words were mainly supportive, with many praising the artist for his decision and for Saldana's articulation of it. But there was still a sprinkling of dissent among Facebook users who disagreed that a simple surname appropriation makes a "real man" and scolded her for mocking "centuries and centuries of tradition."

Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.