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#403991 04/07/08 06:42 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 124
Jellyfish
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Jellyfish
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 124
Globe and Mail article from September 2007


These are the arguments author Corinne Maier uses in her book to persuade readers to just say no to having children. Each reason gets a chapter.

The desire for children: A false aspiration.

Childbirth is torture.

Don't become a travelling feeding bottle.

Continue to amuse yourself.

Subway-job-kids: No thank you!

Hold onto your friends.

Do not adopt the idiot language we use to address children.

To open the nursery is to close the bedroom.

Child, the killer of desire.

They are the death knell of the couple.

To be or to make: You shouldn't have to choose.

The child is a kind of vicious dwarf, of an innate cruelty.

It is conformist.

Children are too expensive.

You become an ally of capitalism.

They will destroy your time and your freedom.

The worst drudgery for the parents.

Do not be deceived by the notion of the ideal child.

You will inevitably be disappointed by your child.

To become a merdeuf (soccer mom) - what horror!

Parenting above all else - no thanks.

Block your professional path with children.

Families: They are horror and cruelty.

Don't fall into an overgrown childhood.

To persist in saying "me first" is a badge of courage.

A child will kill the fond memories of your childhood.

You will not be able to prevent yourself from wanting your child to be happy.

Child care is a set of impossible dilemmas.

School: a prison camp with which you'll have to make a pact.

To raise a child, but toward what kind of future?

Flee from the benevolent blandness.

Parenting will make you soft.

Motherhood is a trap for women.

To be a mother, or to succeed: You must choose.

When the child appears, the father disappears.

The child of today must be a perfect child: a brave new world.

Your child will be in constant danger from pedophiles and pornographers.

Why contribute to a future of unemployment and social exclusion?

There are too many children in the world.

Turn your back on the ridiculous rules of the "good"

parent.


Simone de Beauvoir dismissed motherhood as, "...'a strange mixture of narcissism, altruism, idle daydreaming, sincerity, bad faith, devotion and cynicism."

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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 198
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Jellyfish
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Jellyfish
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 198
Wow. I would have expected this type of book to be written by someone who is avidly CF, not by a mother of two children. The author has a lot of good points.

I couldn't believe this when I read it: "Ms. Maier tends to agree with those French feminists who see the country's generous maternity-leave provisions (16 weeks at full-time pay) and its healthy cash payments for additional children (1,000 euros a month for each child after No. 2) as tools of oppression: By rewarding motherhood, the state is preventing the success of women, keeping them out of the work force, trapping them in a prison of domesticity. And allowing women to believe that children are the answer."

And I thought the tax breaks and family-friendly policies in the US were bad enough! Hmmm... definitely not moving to France in this lifetime.


Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 66
A
Amoeba
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Amoeba
A
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 66
Yes, wow. I had heard of this book, but the interview is enlightening in hearing the author explain her take on it.

Her poor kids, though! They are old enough to understand what she is essentially saying about them.

The "merdeuf" word seemed to catch on in France. Basically, a woman whose life becomes entirely about her children. I've seen it happen with one of my ex-close friends. Now there's a word for it!

Has anyone read this book? What did you think of it?

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 543
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Gecko
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Gecko
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 543
Thanks so much for posting these chapter headers. They really say it all. They are very intelligent. My favourites are:

The child of today must be a perfect child: a brave new world.
The desire for children: A false aspiration.
You will inevitably be disappointed by your child.
Child care is a set of impossible dilemmas.


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