Parental privilege and normativity
I've been thinking about this for a while, and it doesn't really tie into recent issues, but I got to thinking the permeating norm of the society that a family consists of man, woman and children, and the internalized pressure of following this norm. I'm not saying I think motherhood is opressive system for those who want to have children or that women who have them are not often in very poor position with their career, but there is the whole model of thinking that says "woman == must want to breed". The society as a norm is geared towards catering to those who do have children, on an ideological level. So, attempting a list on parental privilege:
1) My reproductive choises are not questioned by family and strangers who have made different choises
2) My maturity isn't questioned based on my reproductive coises ("oh, you'll change your mind when you're older")
3) I can be assured that media and other information sources offer my family type as a norm
4) I can with reasonable certaintly expect that media presents the people who live in or aspire to a family like mine as protagonists/positive persons
5) I don't have to explain my stand on reproductive choises to my doctor
6) I won't get called selfish for my reproductive choises
It's a harmful norm that leads to a lot of misery to expect that every woman must have babies. And those who have made the choise that we don't want children get most shit from other women. Childfree men don't get questioned, after all, it's "natural" for men not to care that much about babies, but if you dare to have functioning uterus and say you don't want to breed everyone and their aunt will be very quick to tell you how selfish and immature you are, and that it'd only do you good to pop out a kid or two to learn some patience.
1) My reproductive choises are not questioned by family and strangers who have made different choises
2) My maturity isn't questioned based on my reproductive coises ("oh, you'll change your mind when you're older")
3) I can be assured that media and other information sources offer my family type as a norm
4) I can with reasonable certaintly expect that media presents the people who live in or aspire to a family like mine as protagonists/positive persons
5) I don't have to explain my stand on reproductive choises to my doctor
6) I won't get called selfish for my reproductive choises
It's a harmful norm that leads to a lot of misery to expect that every woman must have babies. And those who have made the choise that we don't want children get most shit from other women. Childfree men don't get questioned, after all, it's "natural" for men not to care that much about babies, but if you dare to have functioning uterus and say you don't want to breed everyone and their aunt will be very quick to tell you how selfish and immature you are, and that it'd only do you good to pop out a kid or two to learn some patience.