This Reproductive Rights Opinion article in the Guardian struck a resonant cord
Why are women ‘failing’ to reproduce? Maybe it’s time to ask them. It's free to read, and I suggest reading the whole piece.
On Men who talk about the “catastrophic economics”:
I have come to dislike these men intensely. They make me feel like a brood mare who must reproduce for the good of the nation. The latest report on declining birthrates comes from Italy, where it has fallen to the lowest level since 1861. An article on the study in the Times quotes two men, one talking about labour shortages and house prices, no women mentioned or spoken to at all, except passively.
I say this merely because it is important to know one’s history when coming to these discussions. When you are a woman, these reminiscent rumblings and mumblings – subtle though they are – can trigger alarm bells. And for good reason: though Donald Trump’s reign has ended, women are unlikely to forget the mad dash for IUDs in the wake of his election. American women’s right to a safe and legal abortion is being challenged at the highest level; Polish women have already lost theirs. As economic panic about the birthrate continues, it is only natural to fear that women’s reproductive autonomy will come under threat. The men are already talking about us as though we were not there.
Some of the reasons.
While the climate emergency is
undoubtedly a factor in some people’s decision about whether to have a child, it does tend to preclude discussion of
other relevant barriers: a dire lack of affordable childcare and affordable housing, the motherhood penalty paid in your career, the pathetic –
embarrassingly pathetic – amount of paternity leave offered in many western countries, a transactional dating economy and the continued imbalance of domestic labour. If you were going to make the decision purely based on logic, without considering the more profound, visceral longing that many women experience, you simply wouldn’t do it.
Aisling Bea has another point of view.
The truth is, if you want to know, just bloody ask for a damn change.
