I first heard the word in my college classroom a few
years ago. I was an assistant professor of English at a state university, and,
not incidentally, the mother of five children at the time. We were doing the
usual around-the-room introductions in this opening class, which served as my
forecast and early warning system for the upcoming semester. Several of the
women had listed their occupations, their passions, and then mentioned they
were also mothers. Then it was Rosalyn's turn. "Hi, I'm Rosalyn, and I've
been a truck driver and a commercial fisherman, and I'm not a breeder."
Everyone looked at me, silent, eyes wide. I smiled out of reflex, but suddenly
it hit my brain like a smart bomb: A breeder? So that's the term now! Like dogs or
horses, purely animal-species survival.
When I told an administrator at the college where I
taught that I was pregnant and had decided to resign my position, he snorted
and said, "This is your, what, ninth or tenth?" So many children, of
course, that they are uncountable. The next summer, a neighbor I hadn't seen
for awhile came to visit. "How many kids you got now?" he asked, in
his usual direct manner.
"Six," I said, smiling bravely.
"Oh! That's too many! What do you have six kids
for?" he asked, grimacing. "You gonna have any more?" was his
parting shot. This despite the fact that I am nearly 50.
The messages are constant and clear. They are posted
throughout the internet, and they descend upon me in my small hometown through
almost weekly public accostings. In exceeding the national norm, which
currently stands at 2.034 children per household, according to the Population
Reference Bureau, I've stepped down the ladder of achievement and broken not
one, but several social contracts. First and foremost: If you are an educated
professional woman, you will not want innumerable children. Women who are
ambitious and smart have better plans for their lives than hosting Tupperware
parties and singing "I'm a Little Teapot"—with hand motions—at play
groups. In the words of Katharine Hepburn, "I was ambitious and knew I
would not have children. I wanted total freedom."
You can finish reading Leslie Leyland Field’s article here:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/august/15.26.html?order=&start=1
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