Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Pronatalism BS

The reason more women don't have babies has to do with systemic issues such as cost of living, instability, and gender roles that force women to do the bulk of the emotional and domestic labor. Not wanting to have children for those reasons is not a selfish act. It's smart. It's rational. It's reasonable.

IF governments want women to have more children, they need to address the economic issues facing their country. They need to have a program that promotes affordable housing. They need to find ways to lower the cost of food and energy. They need to find ways to take out the emotional and domestic labor issues women are facing.

Though for me personally, while all of these issues are reasons I would have never had a child, the main reason is that I know I would be a terrible mother. I would be a disinterested mother. I would not love the child(ren). That isn't in me. And we're going to have to accept that isn't in some people, sadly, including a lot of people who already have children. 

Children deserve more of everything than what I would be capable of giving them. And the ways in which I could not give to them weren't things I could really change. I don't commit to things. I get easily bored. I loathe the sound of other people's voices and 99% of the time have no interest in what they are saying/wish they would shut up. 

That isn't someone who should be a mother. That is the last person who should be a mother. In fact, THE MOST responsible thing I could do in terms of being a parent is to not become one. 

So stop saying people are selfish for not breeding. Some of them are just being as responsible as they possibly can and if circumstances change, maybe they'll change their minds. Some of the rest of us are assholes, but assholes responsible enough to know when to keep from inflicting our assholery on others.

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