Holy crap, Kaitlyn, get a grip on yourself:
Daughters. Little girls. All the neediness, the insecurity, the vicious things visited upon young women from infancy through adulthood – what could be more terrifying as a parent? It’s terrifying as a big sister, an aunt, a cousin, and a friend, never mind as the first and last line of defense that a parent often represents or expresses the desire to be. How can I fairly bring a girl into this world knowing that the odds of her being raped, assaulted, and abused are so very, very high? What of the smaller daily humiliations and their physical manifestations, like the high rates of eating disorders?
...
But a girl? A child who wants to present as a girl, be recognized as a girl, live and move through the world as a girl? That thought unhinges me. So much can go wrong. So much is beyond me, beyond my control. I would wake up every morning knowing for a fact that the world would enact some pretty awful hurts on her, and the best I could ever do would be to teach her to minimize the damage, to get up every morning and live with the most joy she’s personally capable of, and to never give up. Is the difficulty of life as a girl the life I would want to offer a child? I’m grateful for mine, certainly, but I wonder if I could consciously choose to bring a child into what I know would be a difficult if not debilitating reality. And, most importantly, I wonder if I could possibly rise to the challenge of giving that child everything it would need and never faltering in my own faith and belief.
OMG.
Most people who are decently raised by their parents (and some who aren't) get over their hurts.
On their own.
Overcoming pain and hurt makes you stronger and eventually happier.
There are no guarantees in life when you raise children. But if you raise your kids in a reasonable fashion, they probably won't get anorexia, or live any kind of dysfunctional life-style.
People who never have anything bad happen to them crumble at the first sign of adversity. People who've never had to stand up to bullies and naysayers in their youth are far less likely to develop a spine. If you never have problems, you never learn to cope with problems or solve them.
I'm astonished at this feminist's fear that her potential daughter would be so sure to suffer, suffer, suffer, like girls are such delicate flowers. I feel like I'm reading some concept of women from the 19th century.
Life's problems are opportunities to learn to be happier. Of course you're miserable when something bad happens to you, but it's like when you first learn Judo, you learn to fall and take a hit before you can fight back.
Sheesh.
