Let me start by saying that this is not directed at NJQT as such - but her reply provided a nice base to start this discussion from.
With this I agree. Even for me - that has no actual wish to have and rear children - I can still at times get a bit sad to know that I'll never experience the feeling of being pregnant. To have a life growing inside, to see and register the changes in my own body.
This in itself is pure biology as far as I'm concerned - stronger around the time I ovulate, weaker at other times - the cycle itself is quite clear. But - and that's the major differentiator for me - I have no urge whatsoever to actually see myself in a mothering role after the child would be born - raising, taking care of, providing for, playing with. For me it is a pure biological 'curiosity' if you so wish - what would it feel like.
That is a HUGE difference before you and I. And I dare say most women I have encountered or with whom I friends. The only thing I can ever recall wanting to do since I was a little girl was be a wife and mother.
Would I like to experience it? Yes. But putting a child into this world just to satisfy a biological curiosity without having an interest and a burning desire to then actually provide for and raise that child. No thanks - that's a recipe for disaster - both for myself and for that potential child.
I agree 100%, a baby is not a science experiment. A child is a lifelong commitment. I have great respect for you for realizing this and taking the necessary precautions.
Now, this is where my big beef is. To reduce women (and men) to just being here for procreation is in my world to minimize us beyond what is good for us. To say that our most important purpose on this earth is to further mankind by producing offspring is in a way akin to putting us on the same level as animals. Eat, sleep, fuck and bring children into this world.
To me that reasoning takes away the the characteristic that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom - our brain, our ability to create other things, our inventivness, our drive to further ourselves, our logical thinking, our reasoning and all those other factors that are unique to man.
Let's not forget opposable thumbs and the ability to create weapons of mass destruction. :tongue: Sorry, that was a lame attempt at levity. :biggrin1:
To say that a woman can't live a fulfilling life and find meaning in it without giving in to the biological urge to have children is to me a foreign way of reasoning. That reasoning reduces me to a womb on two legs - disregard the fact that I have a functioning brain and that I enjoy all the other aspects of life as I know it - my career (and no, it's not a substitute for having children...), my friends, my lovers, my ambitions to see and experience as much of this world as I am able to before I finally kick the dust, my hours on the golf course, etc.
<irony>But I don't have any children so I can't be satisfied with life because we all know that women just want to have children...</irony>
Personally I've never met the attitudes described in the latter part of the quoted post. I'm today 37 - have never, ever met the condescending attitude, the whispers, any type of shunning. Curiosity from others on why I've made the choice I have - but never questioning, never pity, never someone feeling sorry for me - not even as a hint or something I've vaguely registered. Perhaps it's a cultural thing - I'm not entirely sure about that as I've spent my fair share of time in the US too and never registered the attitude there either.
Wow, you are lucky!
It actually started well before my 30's I remember being at a family event when I was about 21 or 22 and having an older cousin ask if I was a lesbian. I was aghast...my chin on the floor, as I sputtered that "No, I am not a lesbian." Seeing the shock on my face my cousin said, "well I just figured since you don't have kids or a man or anything the only logical reason is you must be gay. Afterall you are smart, thin, and pretty." I was then assured it was okay to be gay, because my cousin Clarence's son was gay too. She then scurried back to another clique of cousins to report her findings. This same cousin is still convinced that the best way to get me hitched would be to put me in a short skirt on the 50 yardline at a Philadelphia Eagles game. As if!
Getting back to the original topic of this thread. As badly as I want a baby, I would never, ever trick fuck a man to get one. That is morally and ethically against everything I am or for that matter have ever been.
va_lk_yr_ie, Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions so eloquently. I was wrong to write my feelings in such a matter as to make them seem as if all women could possibly think the way I do. I think it's important that the men and women of LPSG understand that not all women are the same on this or any issue.