Is it selfish for a woman to pick a career over a family?

Question

Woman are literally made to bear children, aside from health reasons why would they choose the career over children?

Meanwhile, the birthrate continues to decline in Western nations......

Answer 1

Family is not for everyone. In a free country any woman is free to decide what is best for herself.

Answer 2

it is selfish for any parent to choose their career over an existing family, but if they have no family it is a lifestyle choice.

as to your comment about the birth rate declining, how is that not a good thing? as the world can only support a limited number of people. not to mention, there are many other factors contributing to this decline, including fewer children per family. would you have all women go off birth control and pop kids out one after another? did you know that a woman's body takes 2 years to recover from a pregnancy?

also, women were not "literally made to bear children"--their bodies may be made to do so (in most instances) but some do not have a 'mothering' attitude, and those women would be more selfish to HAVE children that they cannot properly raise than to focus on their careers, WHICH btw, can be very selfless and help society as a whole (depending on the career).

Answer 3

The declining birthrate is a GOOD thing. We have too many people in the world as it is, and a good many of them are stuck in orphanages. That said, it's almost morally wrong to bear your own children these days.

If a woman wants to have a career instead of a family, so what? She shouldn't be made to have a family she doesn't want. It's possible to lead a fulfilling life without it. I am that woman, by the way. You would never be able to force me into marriage and motherhood.

Answer 4

There's nothing wrong with not wanting kids. Women are not obligated to themselves or anyone else to bear children. A woman has every right to pursue a career. Having children is a career in itself. It's not selfish to make a choice. Raising children takes 24/7 TLC. Anyone who doesn't feel they could commit to being a good parent should not be one, at least not until they feel ready to. If you ask me, there are way too many women who are lousy mothers who should have given it some thought before they went ahead and had kids they can't take care of. Kids aren't like house plants that you can feed and water and just leave. They need constant guidance and attention.

Answer 5

Is it selfish for a man to choose career over family?

There are women who, for whatever reasons, don't want children. Many of them would probably do just fine if motherhood were forced upon them, but many others would not, just as it is with men and fatherhood. A woman who does not want kids, who knows she doesn't, and knows that having them would just make her bitter and unhappy, would do much better to not have kids. That's not selfish, that's common sense.

There are also women who, like men, would go crazy being stuck home all day with small children. This is why tranquilizers and alcohol were so popular in the fifties.

There is no psychological or biological reason why a woman can't go back to work after giving birth. The kids will do just fine. They'll be much better off with a happy, fulfilled mother rather than a miserable, bitter one. We have Enfamil. The reason so many career moms are having so much trouble nowadays is that we expect women with careers to still do all the household chores too. A guy has work. A woman has work, helping the kids with their homework, the dishes to do, laundry, dinner to cook, and making sure the kids are ready for school and in bed on time. Yes, modern men do help out more than they did fifty years ago, but not much more. The majority of the burden is on women. The problem here isn't that women work (and in this economy, most women _have_ to work), it's that the rest of society doesn't make it any easier on them to do what they have to.

Answer 6

It's a personal choice. Also I don't see why the 2 are self exclusive. Men have for ages been both workers and fathers, so mothers should be allowed the same privilege. Men do not get told they've picked their career over their family, so it is sexist to say such about women.

They are our mothers and they deserve our respect, wether they choose to stay at home or work. Which also brings up another point, working at home is also a career, and we do not accuse them of picking their career(to be a homemaker) over their family.

These women are contributing, I say so long as they're happy they should not be judged.

Answer 7

No. 'Women were made to bear children' ... Well, all human beings are 'made' for perpetuation of our species, but at the same time - we have intellects, and those intellects drive us to search for something more stimulating/'meaningful' than the biological functions 'for'/with which we were born... So, no, it is NOT selfish for a woman to choose career over family. I'm doing it - my career and education are much more important and meaningul and fulfilling to me than any man/kid could be.

Answer 8

women may find a career more fulfilling.
they may not have the maternal instinct that tells them they should have children.
there are many reasons a woman may not want to have children and the most important part of that is the fact that they have the choice to have a career rather than a family.

Answer 9

I have a career AND a family. So does my (male) partner. We both work together to make sure that our daughter gets the attention and love that she deserves.

I honestly couldn't do both if I were expected to do all of the housework/parenting tasks. Then again, I'd never get involved in that sort of relationship in the first place.

Answer 10

if a man or a woman decide to have children...then they dedicate more time to building their careers than spending quality time with one another and their children, as a family then I do believe that is selfish.....but I think today women can have children and a career......it just has to be in balance......

Answer 11

As long as you don't think you can have both ways and be a mommy and good wife also. So unless you are looking for a man to be mommy and keeper of the home. You have to realize that it is an irreversible decision in many ways. Plus quite honestly you are fighting mother nature because in the end most of us marry and have children.

I'd take being a house-husband any day over a bread-winner and NEVER would I go with two careers and I've done a bit of all of these.

Bottom line is working sucks (unless you act all manly about it) and being a stay at home parent is great. Tell the feminist to stick with equal pay and shove it they are wrong to F with the family.