Writer's Block: Go it alone

[pyat]

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Maybe in the same way that "society" pressures me to eat too much fatty food. And it's worse around the holidays! Stupid society!

More seriously, I think it's biology that's putting the pressure on you, chum.

EDIT: Yeah, that was the very "off the cuff" answer. Obviously, it's more complex than that. A large part of it is biology. Most people are hardwired to want kids and family at some point in their life. I don't see that as society putting pressure on people, so much as society existing in a certain state that is shaped by our biology.

Comments

[shurhaian.livejournal.com]

Although I am myself male, most of this is pretty much what I would have said. For many people the pressure may be innate and biological, but many of those people put PLENTY of pressure on those who DON'T have the urge themselves. Pressure and expectation.

And it's often very clear cut - witness child tax benefits and other things that people with kids get that those without don't.

Also, as mentioned here, getting sterilized can be quite difficult; you probably won't get any social support for it - even if your area gives social support for fertility treatments up to and including a few rounds of IVF(which isn't exactly cheap) *and* support for as long as your child is a dependent.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

And it's often very clear cut - witness child tax benefits and other things that people with kids get that those without don't.

The tax benefits are very low compared to the cost of taking care of a kid, even if you are in the highest tax bracket. They're also lower than the money you would be able to get if you were caring for an adult dependant with the same level of capability as the child.

[shurhaian.livejournal.com]

It's still the case that having a child is partly subsidized.

I'm also not so sure that it being greater than the money for an adult dependent is universal.

Too, I've been discussing the laws in Sweden lately. As I've had it explained to me, citizens there get a certain amount(and if I've heard right, it's a stipend, not just a tax credit, though presumably one can be made ineligible by enough income) just for having kids.

They also get EXTRA money for schooling if they have a child.

They aren't permitted to work full time and still get an education stipend - but if they have a child and are a student, they get extra money that neither group alone would be entitled to.

No, it may not entirely offset the costs of raising a child. But it's still subsidizing that child, and that says to me "This is what society expects you to do".

There's also different tax structures for married couples, which in some cases offer them an ostensible advantage. That's not always the case(and even where it is, in some places actually turning it into one is difficult to impossible), but there is still some social expectation, from the tax system on down, for marriage and childrearing.