This is because I did not leave it "too late" to reproduce. The Tory party might disagree what with the whole reproducing-first-as-a-teenager thing but, I'm sure First Response is totally okay with my reproducing as a teenager since I was not, you know, "old". I am enjoying the irony of the Daily Mail labelling me a good mother. I might get a t-shirt with that printed on, but I digress.
We're supposed to shudder at the thought of old people having sex never mind reproducing. Actually, we're supposed to shudder at "old women" having sex and reproducing. After all, these campaigns are never aimed at men being too old to have sex and make babies [see: every male celebrity over the age of 40.] This is what really pisses me off about these campaigns: women who have babies too young are whores and women who have babies too old are creepy. We never see the same language used against men.
Now, I can't be bothered googling for the references because it's 9:30 on a Sunday morning and I want to watch stupid cartoons with the kids, but there is research into men's fertility declining as they get older. All of these "women must have babies between the ages of 28-32 or there eggs will get icky" campaigns ignore the research into the quality of male sperm decreasing as men get older. There have been studies linking increases in children born with disabilities to the age of both parents but guess which studies get media play?
God forbid, we talk about men's fertility and health. Instead, we celebrate older men who reproduce with younger women; many not much older than teenagers.
If we want to discuss infertility, then why aren't we talking about men? Or, environmental factors like pollution?
Where are the men in these discussions?
Now, I can't be bothered googling for the references because it's 9:30 on a Sunday morning and I want to watch stupid cartoons with the kids, but there is research into men's fertility declining as they get older. All of these "women must have babies between the ages of 28-32 or there eggs will get icky" campaigns ignore the research into the quality of male sperm decreasing as men get older. There have been studies linking increases in children born with disabilities to the age of both parents but guess which studies get media play?
God forbid, we talk about men's fertility and health. Instead, we celebrate older men who reproduce with younger women; many not much older than teenagers.
If we want to discuss infertility, then why aren't we talking about men? Or, environmental factors like pollution?
Where are the men in these discussions?
This is just the same old misogynistic, woman-blaming bullshit designed to punish women.>
