babies

Jessica

“I told my sons, make sure your wives breastfeed and then you’ll never have to get up in the night for a crying baby” (Same man in the same conversation) “I never used to get up when my kids cried as babies… it’s what wives are for”

Carina

Growing up in immigrant family (and having an immigrant boyfriend), I’m expected to fulfill traditional roles of a woman. My family along with my boyfriend’s family expect me to grow up, attend school, graduate from a university, and give up all of my education and job opportunities in order to bear a child afterwards. What’s the point of having a degree if I won’t be even using it for job? It’s a ridiculous expectation and I refuse to follow it. What’s worse, they love to ask this question: how many children are you planning to have? I always reply none or zero. Their response, “Oh, you’ll grow out of it.” My boyfriend has that assumption as well, and says, “It’s only natural for females. All of them (females) are like that.” It’s disgusting. I don’t want to be categorized by that just because I have a healthy uterus. Unfortunately, I experience everyday sexism from the individuals closest to me.