- Feb 5, 2002
- 187,154
- 69,310
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
From an early age, I knew I wanted to be a wife and mother. Even as I grew older and began to plan for college, I knew marriage and motherhood would be my priority, regardless of what career path I might pursue. I did not realize at the time how unusual my priorities had become.
The prevailing assumption of young millennial women was that college was necessary for a successful career and that the subsequent career would translate into economic prosperity.
If I declared my future life goals were to marry and start a family, the response would have been something like, “That’s nice, but what else?” In a world where women now have endless “choice,” why would you just be a wife and mother? Marriage and motherhood were not perceived as bad, but they were no longer an inevitable or necessary measure of success or achievement.
No longer constrained to their biology, women are now free to engage with the world like modified men, which makes having children a “lifestyle choice.” This vision of independence subtly molds women’s identities during formative years, teaching them to understand themselves through achievement and external success. Motherhood is seen as an interruption to be avoided, and the widespread availability of contraception and access to abortion has resulted in a culture that implicitly communicates to women that becoming a mother should be an active choice.
The consequences are increasingly visible. Women are waiting for the “right time” to have children, often delaying well into their 30s or forgoing childbearing altogether.
If the global decline in birth rates persists, it will lead to disastrous socioeconomic consequences worldwide, and many of the proffered explanations do not fully account for the cross-cultural consistency of this trend. To understand the birthrate decline, we must first understand why women are choosing to delay or avoid motherhood altogether and how modernity has transformed the way women construct their identities and find meaning.
Delayed motherhood and the birthrate decline
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
The prevailing assumption of young millennial women was that college was necessary for a successful career and that the subsequent career would translate into economic prosperity.
If I declared my future life goals were to marry and start a family, the response would have been something like, “That’s nice, but what else?” In a world where women now have endless “choice,” why would you just be a wife and mother? Marriage and motherhood were not perceived as bad, but they were no longer an inevitable or necessary measure of success or achievement.
No longer constrained to their biology, women are now free to engage with the world like modified men, which makes having children a “lifestyle choice.” This vision of independence subtly molds women’s identities during formative years, teaching them to understand themselves through achievement and external success. Motherhood is seen as an interruption to be avoided, and the widespread availability of contraception and access to abortion has resulted in a culture that implicitly communicates to women that becoming a mother should be an active choice.
The consequences are increasingly visible. Women are waiting for the “right time” to have children, often delaying well into their 30s or forgoing childbearing altogether.
If the global decline in birth rates persists, it will lead to disastrous socioeconomic consequences worldwide, and many of the proffered explanations do not fully account for the cross-cultural consistency of this trend. To understand the birthrate decline, we must first understand why women are choosing to delay or avoid motherhood altogether and how modernity has transformed the way women construct their identities and find meaning.
Delayed motherhood and the birthrate decline
Continued below.
Women, declining birth rates, abortion: What is really going on?
No longer constrained to their biology, women are now free to engage with the world like modified men, making having children a lifestyle choice
www.christianpost.com
