Creatrix: Blogging Mamalife, Creativity and the Human Experience

I was laying on the bed, nursing (my favorite thinking spot) and I started to wonder about the whole parent/non-parent interaction dichotomy. Was it like this for my parents? Possibly. For their parents? Probably not. We all know about the golden old days when women had few choices other than spinsterhood and wife and motherhood. So, most people out of the educational system were usually looking to get married. And most married people were looking to start families. Naturally there were exceptions, but this was largely the state of American culture in the first half of the twentieth century. Chances are the people you socialized with in your age range were doing similar things to you, dealing with similar issues and choices.

So, moving forward to the current time, not everyone expects to get married let alone have kids. And some have kids much later than others. And then there’s the presence of nontraditional families who would have been invisible previously. There are more choices available to men and women but they’re still out there, mixing it up and getting social. Therefore, like never before, there’s this new dynamic being forged between people of similar age but vastly different lifestyle.

This seems like the perfect opportunity to make some real headway in true mothers’, fathers’ and children’s rights. People with families used to sort of plane off into their own little suburban niches, largely becoming more politically and economically conservative and forming that “silent majority” everyone talked about in the sixties. But now mamas and papas continue to hang out with those who choose not to be parents, each exposing the other to new ways of seeing the world and keeping that vital, radical fire stoked. The non-parents remind the parents of the opportunities they should still be allowed to access with their children. The parents remind the non-parents that kids can be just as cool and should be allowed to grow up in a safe, fun environment full of opportunities. What a swell party this is!

andrea