Women Caught in "Childfree" Trap
Stephen Shaw - The Winston Marshall Show
Half of women in Britain are childless at 30, half of those will never have a child. That is according to the latest statistics.
A similar story is told across the world. We are facing a crisis of existential proportions. Or so says demographer and filmmaker Stephen J Shaw.
We took a deep dive into his film 'Birthgap', and looked at the unplanned childlessness trap catching women. What are the cultural, economic and philosophical reasons for this change? What can be done about it? Is it too late?
Shaw's terrifying predictions beg another question - why is this being ignored by mainstream media?
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WM
I think putting it all on women is a bit unfair and misguided. Perhaps questioning why women are opting out of relationships during child bearing years.. or choosing pets over children. It’s not that we don’t want to have children, it’s that we haven’t found quality partners. This is anecdotal for myself and many women I know. We now are in a society where we can provide our own financial security, so we need something else or something more from men that maybe wasn’t as much of a requirement in the past. And why aren’t we asking if men will regret being “child free”? If a larger percentage of women aren’t having children that means some men are since it takes both to make a baby. I’m kind of thinking out loud as I type this, just fyi.
Nature is unfair I’m afraid. Biologically men can delay fatherhood, women can’t delay motherhood. This is something that isn’t explained nearly enough, if at all. To avoid the demographic slide I’m afraid it’s up to women, not men. That means if a woman wants children she must refuse to settle down with any man who either doesn’t want children, or wants to postpone children. Many men will happily avoid the responsibility of fatherhood until it’s too late for their partner. They have the option to leave for a younger fertile partner. I’m not saying they would do this, just that it is an option some take - and yes, it can cause much bitterness and heartache for older women who are childless AND then find it much harder to find another partner.