What I told The Guardian about why I’m having kids
I have a Twitter account. It would be great if you want to follow me @feminist_wc since no one else does!
So far I’ve been using it to record the weird comments people make about my pregnant body at work as a bartender.
Through my Twitter, a reporter from The Guardian found me through #pregnant and asked if he could interview me for an article. He was looking for women having baby’s in October and November 2022, since the world population will reach 8 billion on November 15, 2022. He wanted to know about my hopes for the future of my newborn.
I have no idea if he will use my interview or in what context so I’ll lay it out for you here.
The interview took about 20-30 minutes. I told him about my background, how I used to be a teacher, that Steven and I are married homeowners. Steven and I consciously decided to have a baby. Growing up, society told me I was going to have a baby. It was not a fact of life I questioned until my mid-20s when I moved to Boulder, CO and engaged in more critical conversations about the incredible choice to bring more life onto this planet. I understand the argument that it is the most selfish thing a person can do, bring another life into a crumbling environment with too many humans for resources. Yet, I also feel having a child is the most innate human action we can fulfill.
There are times I am scared about the future. Let’s face it, I’m a millennial, I’ve seen a lot in my 31 years. I’ve experienced climate change, economic collapse, massive unemployment, growth of white nationalism, and many wars around the world. The effects of climate change are at our doorsteps and I have no doubt that the wars, famine, drought that people are experiencing in Asian and African countries will be in the United States in my lifetime. When this overwhelms me, I tend to think existentially. Perhaps this is simply the way things were meant to be and my choices will have no effect on the outcome.
While I think that sometimes, usually I am not overcome with anxiety. I am proud of the choices I make as a global citizen. It can be hard and heavy to balance personal desires and joy with political and environmental action. I have come to believe that life is about give and take. There are many things individuals can do to moderate our carbon footprint and such, but until our government regulates corporations and entire industries change, there will not be massive results. So again, it’s a balance.
Ultimately, I think having a child is the biggest act of hope for our humanity and future. Every generation is going to have it’s issues, and what I can tell through my work with young people, is that what we millennials have seen and fought, will not be the same for Gen Z and beyond. They saw the most contentious political season of modern history and did not like it. They live in a time where it’s no longer common to deny climate change. Social movements gain momentum with the click of buttons. Much of their worldview has been shaped by aggression, fear, and hate and from what I have seen, they do not want to continue it.
During the interview, we also spoke about the region I live, Colorado. I like Colorado politics, I’m happy with Jared Polis as Governor. There’s a water crisis in the North American West, there’s aridification here, in states and countries to our South. It’s frightening. If aridification in the region where I live gets as bad as it’s projected to, if resources like water truly deplete, again, I have to hope that people will do what they can to figure it out and survive. Which in my opinion is to work and come together as opposed to separate ourselves and fight.
Furthermore, during my interview I talked about privilege. I live in the heart of the Rocky Mountains where we have access to very clean water so I feel privileged to live in this region. I also experience white privilege. Colorado is not a very diverse state, my city Longmont is not very racially, ethnically, or religiously diverse, and I am birthing a white son. He will have white male privilege. I think if that’s not used properly it is only used harmfully. I need to make extra intentional efforts to expose him to communities, people, cultures, and realities that are unlike his own. To teach him about white privilege, male privilege, wealth disparities, consent, gender and sexual identities because I know he will not be properly exposed to much intersectionality in schools. It has to be from the home. It’s a lot to plan for, but in my opinion that’s the responsibility of parenting.
Lastly, I explained more about the context of my husband and my situation. The world population will be 8 billion. Yet my husband and I are the first in either of our immediate family’s to have a child, we are the first in our friend group, and we live in a country where the average number of children per family is declining. I am fortunate to have minimal debt, to own a home, to have a choice in having and raising a child. Many of my millennial friends are not in this position. I respect and understand why people do not want to have kids, yet in our immediate experience this is unique.
For me, the choice to have a baby came down to fear or hope. In my life, I decided not to make decisions out of fear, so I chose hope.
