M y first response as a mum of two, whenever I hear a story about a woman focusing on her career instead of having kids? Good for her. How refreshing to hear of a woman putting on the brakes and wanting to wait to have a family – rather than a man. How many times have you heard that in reverse? Or witnessed a (usually famous) woman berated or pitied for being child-free? Just look at what recently happened to Taylor Swift: a male writer branded her a “terrible role model” for being “unmarried and childless” – at 34.
When you’re a woman, you’re damned if you do; but particularly damned if you don’t. I strongly believe it can only help to open up conversation about heteronormative, stereotypical tropes that damage women and place undue pressure on us to breed out of fear of our “biological clock”. Because that same pressure even plagues people like the Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris , who’s been lambasted for being “ childless ”.
One commentator said they believed that she shouldn’t be the US president, because “the concerns of parents and families will always be abstract to her”. Can we just reflect for a moment on how crazy this is – and how much pressure it puts on women? What about men and their role in parenthood? Not to mention the unfair structures that prohibit women from maintaining a career without being penalised for it – such as soaring childcare costs. Women should be speaking out about what they really want – .