If freedom of women truly means extinction, I will in all likelyhood become pro extinction.
Sounds radical? Perhaps. Hear me out though. Let me ramble a little.
I just saw a post on instagram by fembase that said a new study suggests that birth rates must hit 2.7 kids per woman to stop worldwide population decline. Extinction is a clickbait word.
Twenty to thirty years ago when I was a kid and a young teen, the problem people were often discussing was overpopulation. Now seemingly everyone is worried about declining birth rates. Why?
One reason is that capitalism cannot function without a continuously growing consumer base. In many cases actual workforce can be replaced by machinery, but someone has to exist to buy the products and services for the corporations to profit generation after generation.
Based on my observations, racism and xenophobia also play part in conversations about declining birth rates. When following the discussions about natality in my home country, it appears the people who complain that there aren't enough babies being born, are actually concerned there aren't enough our kinds' babies being born. This seems to be a pattern across several countries.
But why are birth rates declining?
Political and/or religious conservatives, as well as misogynists, often blame feminism. Women have too much freedom now, women are too focused on their careers or studies or themselves to realize their true calling: being a wife and a mother! Any man who feels threatened by a woman's freedom of choice is easy to convince of the evils of feminism.
Feminism is not the cause of birth rates dropping. In my opinion there is no one single simple reason. But there several factors that, when combined, shed some light on the issue:
People are concerned about and affected by wars, economic instability, systematic misogyny (which affects things such as healthcare and career), lack social resources (no network, no help), poverty, climate change...
I see news articles and clips every day about horrendous things that happen around the world. We all know the world is changing. I couldn't imagine shaming anyone who didn't want to bring a child into this world.
I support people who choose to have kids. That is their personal choice. That's what all this comes down to on an individual level: choice.
If women in mass choose to stop having children then so be it. I rather see us wither away than live controlled.
And don't be mistaken, people in power fight over control constantly. Whether it's about abortion, birth control, or sex education, any topic that can be used to steer the conversation is going to be used to steer the conversation - to which ever direction the speaker wishes, whatever their agenda. Pay attention. Listen and think.
I want all people to be equal and for that to be a reality women must have control over their own bodies. Politics or spouses cannot have the power to dictate whether or not a woman bears a child. That choice has to be hers.
