It seems like the concept of the biological clock has been with us forever. In fact, the metaphor was invented in the late 1970s. And it has been used to reinforce sexist ideas ever since
I wasted years with x!” I have never heard a straight man say this. But when a woman does, after a breakup, everyone immediately understands what she means. We are raised to believe that female bodies are time bombs. Any relationship that does not “work out” – which is to say, does not get a woman pregnant by a man committed to helping her raise their offspring – brings her closer to her expiration date. At the stroke of midnight, our eggs turn into dust.
Women in many times and places have felt pressure to bear children. But the idea of the biological clock is a recent invention. It first appeared in the late 1970s. “The Clock Is Ticking for the Career Woman,” the Washington Post declared, on the front page of its Metro Section, on 16 March 1978. The author, Richard Cohen, could not have realised just how inescapable his theme would become.
Male fertility declines with age too. A growing body of research has shown that sperm counts diminish over the years
The biological clock's cultural role was to counteract the effects of women’s liberation
This seems a strange form of empowerment: spending tens of thousands of dollars to make your date feel more comfortable
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from Pregnancy | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1OdpK8d
