It’s shocking the number of people who think they’re entitled to know all about your reproductive health and/or choices.
By the time I was in my mid-30s, I had seen several loved ones suffer through infertility and miscarriages, and I thought about how horrible those conversations must be for them, so I started my public awareness campaign.
Someone I barely knew would ask if I had kids. I would say no. If they pressed about why, I would respond with, “You know, when a woman gets to be my age and doesn’t have kids, there’s usually a reason for it. And she usually doesn’t want to discuss it with someone she just met.”
Some people would immediately apologize and seemed to genuinely understand how intrusive those questions could be. Others were oblivious and needed things spelled out more clearly: your idle curiosity about other people’s family planning is not worth dredging up what could be serious trauma.
It’s shocking the number of people who think they’re entitled to know all about your reproductive health and/or choices.
By the time I was in my mid-30s, I had seen several loved ones suffer through infertility and miscarriages, and I thought about how horrible those conversations must be for them, so I started my public awareness campaign.
Someone I barely knew would ask if I had kids. I would say no. If they pressed about why, I would respond with, “You know, when a woman gets to be my age and doesn’t have kids, there’s usually a reason for it. And she usually doesn’t want to discuss it with someone she just met.”
Some people would immediately apologize and seemed to genuinely understand how intrusive those questions could be. Others were oblivious and needed things spelled out more clearly: your idle curiosity about other people’s family planning is not worth dredging up what could be serious trauma.