Thank you - this is brilliant and the kind of thing I’ve avoided saying in case I upset those who cannot conceive or now I’m older those who don’t have children. only recently that I figured out that it’s the same for all women and you have put this into word so beautifully. Whether we do or don’t, want to or can’t , it cannot help but define us. how can we get young women to listen?
Wow. Thank you for such a lovely comment. Yeah, that's exactly it - however we do or don't use it, that capacity is definitive in our lives. That was the key point I was trying to make, so I'm really glad that come through. How does one get that across to young women? Good question, but jeez, it seems like even the women who are older, and should be wiser, often don't want to acknowledge this fact either. I think that's a piece of the problem we've ended up with here. I don't know the best way to convey all this to young women, but I think messages that are very clear about the fact that their bodies are extraordinary, and distinct from men's, and that the freedoms they want to enjoy are dependent upon a raft of precarious social, legal, and medical provisions, are key. Basically, not bullshitting them, and calling out bullshit when we see it. There are a number of women who are doing this marvellously (many of whom are here on Substack!), which is why even though mine is only a small voice, I'm trying to add it to their chorus.
My son tells me that young female trainee lawyers are being offered egg freezing as a perk - I’m so angry about this I cannot express myself coherently.
I hear ya. There are so many industries being built around egg harvesting and selling and freezing and the like. I don't know how this is not seen as ominous.
Ask him what kind of maternity leave they offer. Or what kinds of accommodations for lactation they offer. Or what kind of flexible working models they offer. I'd be curious to know what happens if they ever dare to actually use one of their eggs.
One of the cultural consequences of contempt/hatred for women is a necessary contempt/hatred for women’s primary product: human life. Human beings, born, nursed, carefully tended through those delicate preambulant prespeech years, functional human beings delivered to culture with the Human 23.0 software installed. The economy men have created (very well) has no room for it. All they can do for now is sell and buy human lives, and destroy them in their wars and other manufactured crises that further along their territorial interests and develop the technologies that will eventually make life redundant. What always surprises me though, is that despite the larger culture having virtually no respect and placing no cultural value on maternity, people still expect women to do it and they get angry when we don’t! It’s like everyone is hoping women are stupid enough to not recognize that motherhood is not valued by society, and aspire to a role they demean anyway.
This deserves a round of applause. You can't see it, but I'm clapping in front of my computer.
One of the big questions then, is - what would an economy that gave value to human life and care, to the physical and mental load of reproduction and all the tasks and skills that go with it, actually look like? How would it function? I realise we're unlikely to get it, but we've no hope of shaking off this model if we don't have a clear vision of a workable better one. And unfortunately, I feel that all my years at university mainly taught me how to be critical of things, without training me how to clearly envision new and better alternatives. At the moment I'm trying to improve my understanding of economics in order to be able to have better/ more constructive ideas in exactly this area you address. Do you have any recommendations for books, podcasts, Substacks, etc.?
Thank you - this is brilliant and the kind of thing I’ve avoided saying in case I upset those who cannot conceive or now I’m older those who don’t have children. only recently that I figured out that it’s the same for all women and you have put this into word so beautifully. Whether we do or don’t, want to or can’t , it cannot help but define us. how can we get young women to listen?
Wow. Thank you for such a lovely comment. Yeah, that's exactly it - however we do or don't use it, that capacity is definitive in our lives. That was the key point I was trying to make, so I'm really glad that come through. How does one get that across to young women? Good question, but jeez, it seems like even the women who are older, and should be wiser, often don't want to acknowledge this fact either. I think that's a piece of the problem we've ended up with here. I don't know the best way to convey all this to young women, but I think messages that are very clear about the fact that their bodies are extraordinary, and distinct from men's, and that the freedoms they want to enjoy are dependent upon a raft of precarious social, legal, and medical provisions, are key. Basically, not bullshitting them, and calling out bullshit when we see it. There are a number of women who are doing this marvellously (many of whom are here on Substack!), which is why even though mine is only a small voice, I'm trying to add it to their chorus.
My son tells me that young female trainee lawyers are being offered egg freezing as a perk - I’m so angry about this I cannot express myself coherently.
I hear ya. There are so many industries being built around egg harvesting and selling and freezing and the like. I don't know how this is not seen as ominous.
Ask him what kind of maternity leave they offer. Or what kinds of accommodations for lactation they offer. Or what kind of flexible working models they offer. I'd be curious to know what happens if they ever dare to actually use one of their eggs.
This is such a great essay! We've turned away so much from our female bodies, as if they were curses, but our bodily powers are superpowers!!!
Thank you very much! I'm very glad it resonated with you. And glad to have you here.
One of the cultural consequences of contempt/hatred for women is a necessary contempt/hatred for women’s primary product: human life. Human beings, born, nursed, carefully tended through those delicate preambulant prespeech years, functional human beings delivered to culture with the Human 23.0 software installed. The economy men have created (very well) has no room for it. All they can do for now is sell and buy human lives, and destroy them in their wars and other manufactured crises that further along their territorial interests and develop the technologies that will eventually make life redundant. What always surprises me though, is that despite the larger culture having virtually no respect and placing no cultural value on maternity, people still expect women to do it and they get angry when we don’t! It’s like everyone is hoping women are stupid enough to not recognize that motherhood is not valued by society, and aspire to a role they demean anyway.
This deserves a round of applause. You can't see it, but I'm clapping in front of my computer.
One of the big questions then, is - what would an economy that gave value to human life and care, to the physical and mental load of reproduction and all the tasks and skills that go with it, actually look like? How would it function? I realise we're unlikely to get it, but we've no hope of shaking off this model if we don't have a clear vision of a workable better one. And unfortunately, I feel that all my years at university mainly taught me how to be critical of things, without training me how to clearly envision new and better alternatives. At the moment I'm trying to improve my understanding of economics in order to be able to have better/ more constructive ideas in exactly this area you address. Do you have any recommendations for books, podcasts, Substacks, etc.?