Are Women Pressured to Air Their Plans For Offspring?

December 7, 2008

Celine Dion has four more frozen embryos, Jennifer Aniston "longs" for a baby and Beyonce is "terrified of having a child." Women who haven't entered motherhood are talking about when they will or why they won't. Meanwhile moms are making headlines for their family expansion plans. Do you think women feel pressured to air their plans? If so, is it personal or societal?

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15 Comments

hiighfashion 4 years 23 weeks

i think it can be both, but more societal: you have the parents (when are you going to make me a grandma/grandpa). and i've seen it lately with celebs: beyonce is getting married because she's pregnant, then she gets married and is for a few months and she's pregnant now. no maybe next week. and the thing with eva longoria, she's gained weight so she must be pregnant! well she's been married for over a year now so when will she be pregnant. i've seen this with the tv hosts badgering. just leave it alone, we`ll know when they have kids.

skigurl 4 years 23 weeks

the hair on that kid is child abuse

DFlyGoddess 4 years 23 weeks

Romantic relationships, marriage, starting a family and expanding a family are all somewhat private matters, so the audacity of people to inquire about them annoys me. I'm not sure what prompted this gross lack of boundaries, but the comfort with which people ask personal questions like those these days is astounding.

LaurenG22 4 years 23 weeks

This is very annoying but very common.

OHmeetsBK 4 years 23 weeks

I've been married for over a year now. Not a single person has asked me about when we'll have kids. I have to admit - I kind of wish they would. I guess that's a different way of viewing this situation...

kia 4 years 24 weeks

I am not a mom. However, I am a newlywed and in my early thirties... people like to get up in my Kool Aid on this topic.

karlorene 4 years 24 weeks

yeah honestly... all i can do is stare at that kids hair. i KNOW celine can afford a haircut if she can afford to freeze embryos

krae85 4 years 24 weeks

that child needs to be groomed! anyway, people are gonna be in your business about it so think up a good answer, be polite and walk away. no one needs to know details about why or why not and when.

Greggie 4 years 24 weeks

I don't think so. In general, I don't think asking if someone is going to have kids or how many they'll have is pressure, just curiosity. I think it all depends on who you're talking to - some people pressure about having kids or more kids, some about not having kids or pressuring that you have too many or shouldn't have more. I don't think society or government has pressured me into my childbearing decision or discussing it with anyone.

mhg 4 years 24 weeks

so true lickety split! so true.

lickety split 4 years 24 weeks

sequence of questions women are asked; any boyfriend? followed by; when are you getting married? followed by; when are you having a baby? followed by; when are you going to give that baby a brother or a sister? followed by; aww, 2 of the same sex. don't you want to try for a boy/girl? followed by; omg! how many kids are you going to have!!!!?

lickety split 4 years 24 weeks

sequence of questions women are asked;any boyfriend? followed by;when are you getting married? followed by;when are you having a baby? followed by;when are you going to give that baby a brother or a sister? followed by;aww, 2 of the same sex. don't you want to try for a boy/girl? followed by;omg! how many kids are you going to have!!!!?

Jessiebanana 4 years 24 weeks

Yes and it's a shame. No one asks men about these things. It's no ones business if you don't want kids. It doesn't make you a bad person or less of a woman....but then this is the same society that expects 15 year old girls, not boys, to be perfect role models (in all arenas including sex), so how do we can expect more from a society that doesn't have the decency to stop asking teenage girls when they plan on losing their virginity in front a camera.

Chrstne 4 years 24 weeks

I am not a mom, but I can say that I think it is both. Society, our government -- it is obvious they want us to have children and to be married. It seems as though the United States makes that the goal that you should want to attain the most. People wonder why they give tax breaks to married couples and people with children -- they try to make more people want those things. I think people see the government doing all these wonderful things to those people who conform to the standards of what they want and all of the sudden people are asking when you will get married and when you will have children, as if having children is the only things that can make you happy. I understand that no one has a kid for the tax break...but still, no matter how you look at it, having a kid is what the US government wanted. I think they do what they can to try to make those things more attractive -- and they do a very good job. However, I think women can also put the pressure on themselves. You do not have to tell people your plans to or to not have a child if you do not want to. I know families and stuff can definitely make it hard, but you don't have to. I don't feel the need to share with my family/friends/etc my plans to one day have a baby or not have a baby. They definitely do not need to know. It is a common question amongst people, because of the way our society is. Having children is viewed as one of the greatest goals we can reach...and even if that is not so, they still feel the need to ask all about your plans.

Chrstne 4 years 24 weeks

I am not a mom, but I can say that I think it is both. Society, our government -- it is obvious they want us to have children and to be married. It seems as though the United States makes that the goal that you should want to attain the most. People wonder why they give tax breaks to married couples and people with children -- they try to make more people want those things. I think people see the government doing all these wonderful things to those people who conform to the standards of what they want and all of the sudden people are asking when you will get married and when you will have children, as if having children is the only things that can make you happy. I understand that no one has a kid for the tax break...but still, no matter how you look at it, having a kid is what the US government wanted. I think they do what they can to try to make those things more attractive -- and they do a very good job. However, I think women can also put the pressure on themselves. You do not have to tell people your plans to or to not have a child if you do not want to. I know families and stuff can definitely make it hard, but you don't have to.I don't feel the need to share with my family/friends/etc my plans to one day have a baby or not have a baby. They definitely do not need to know. It is a common question amongst people, because of the way our society is. Having children is viewed as one of the greatest goals we can reach...and even if that is not so, they still feel the need to ask all about your plans.

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