2 ms·

Terrible article. It lumps together all the following scenarios and more: 1. A woman forced into motherhood by a partner who refuses to allow her to terminate

by lusr 14y ago

Terrible article. It lumps together all the following scenarios and more: 1. A woman forced into motherhood by a partner who refuses to allow her to terminate the pregnancy 2. A forced mother (rape, abandonment) who was unable to opt for termination for whatever reason 3. A stay at home mother who thinks its too much hard work (as compared to...? We never find out what their expectations are) 4. A resentful mother with the wrong or unsupportive partner and whose anger and resentment towards said partner may now be directed at everything related to them (e.g. children) 5. Women who had children "too early" and feel resentful missing out on youthful freedom 6. Women who miss their youthful freedom Etc. Some of these are quite understandable, some appear to be naivete, and some appear to be pure laziness or a lack of responsibility (i.e. deficiencies in moral character).

king_jester 14y ago
All of the things you listed are experiences that women who have children have. All of these issues are related to one another - women are denied access to birth control, esp. abortion, and are often primary care givers to children whether they have that child voluntarily or not. The cultural narrative for women in the US is that you leave behind your life and identity as a sacrifice in order to support your child/children, which is something that may lead someone to feel that having children is not fulfilling. People do not live in a vacuum and cultural messages and images about child raising that women see and experience shape how they approach having a child (if they even plan their pregnancy, which the article shows is not true for a lot of people). The author of the article, Jessica Valenti, is a feminist author and that forms the background for this piece, which is why this piece takes a look at many different experiences that women have in regards to having children.

by lusr 14y ago

king_jester 14y ago

All of the things you listed are experiences that women who have children have. All of these issues are related to one another - women are denied access to birth control, esp. abortion, and are often primary care givers to children whether they have that child voluntarily or not. The cultural narrative for women in the US is that you leave behind your life and identity as a sacrifice in order to support your child/children, which is something that may lead someone to feel that having children is not fulfilling. People do not live in a vacuum and cultural messages and images about child raising that women see and experience shape how they approach having a child (if they even plan their pregnancy, which the article shows is not true for a lot of people). The author of the article, Jessica Valenti, is a feminist author and that forms the background for this piece, which is why this piece takes a look at many different experiences that women have in regards to having children.