Oh....hang on that's wrong she was interviewed about a variety of subjects and among her comments were fears about the limited time women had to 'go to university, get their career on track, try and buy a home and have a baby'.
She then followed it up by saying 'You can do your career afterwards' which enraged society - by that I mean Twitter - with everyone suggesting she was this, that and the other and 'how dare she tell people when to have babies'.
Except she didn't, she was expressing what is called an 'opinion' based on her experiences both personally and among friends.
Commenters have clearly not read the interview so let me share a few points.
The headline for the piece is “I don’t want the next generation of women to suffer the same heartache” - how dare she be so caring hey?
Extracts from the interview by a very good journalist in Bryony Gordon include: “We should speak honestly and frankly about fertility and the fact it falls off a cliff when you’re 35.
“We should talk openly about university and whether going when you’re young, when we live so much longer, is really the way forward.”
“At the moment, women have 15 years to go to university, get their career on track, try and buy a home and have a baby. That is a hell of a lot to ask someone.
“Some of the greatest pain that I have seen among friends is the struggle to have a child. It wasn’t all people who couldn’t start early enough because they hadn’t met the right person.
Nowhere is Ms Allsopp TELLING women what to do, she is expressing an opinion based on her own experience, she even admits she 'whistled in by a miracle' when it came to having her own sons.
Fertility is a real problem, Pam and I only met in 2008 when I was 26 and she was already 30. With fetility rates dropping after you are 35 we could have had only five years to move in together, get married (again our choice) and raise a family.
Luckily at 35 she fell pregnant and we will welcome Jacob in August and, fertility gods willing, will maybe have the chance to add to our family if we wish.
But it could have been very different, we could be talking IVF and even adoption, the fact it has not happened is a blessing.
Surely Ms Allsopp is right to at least suggest women think hard before starting their life journey, rather than face the potential heartache of infertility?
Surely she is entitled to an opinion? Link is below, please read the full interview and make up your own minds.
Great post! I saw all the drama of this unfold across twitter too. After reading through the full article I must admit I kind of agree with her...for me, she seems to be saying that, as women, we should have choice. You don't have to go straight to Uni or work if that's not what you want - but whatever you do, remember that there IS a time limit on having children (or conceiving easier) and it IS there no matter how much we ignore talking about it. It all seems to have been blown a bit out of proportion and I must admit it makes me laugh that there is so much anger over one woman's opinion.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I know I am a man and probably 'won't understand' but fertility is a real issue and think that was all Kirstie was raising. Frustrates me so much when people don't actually read what was said but are horrified anyway, you wouldn't do that in any other walk of life!
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