Children's Day is long behind us, but that doesn't mean we can shelve baby-related topics. On Twitter, for instance, men decided to debate on the topic of why women don't want to have children.

Do you think this is a well-known issue? Not really. Men in their talks have come to the conclusion that it would be best to force women to give birth. After all, their bodies and themselves are "public property".

On Children's Day, Onet.pl featured a report on childlessness. Poles were asked, among other things, whether they wanted to have offspring and to explain why they might not want to.

A survey conducted by IBRiS shows that a third of Poles without offspring simply do not want children. 21 per cent are still hesitant. What are the reasons for this decision? Women most often chose the answer "I don't like children".

"Intrigued by that, we asked childless people about their reasons for not wanting children. One of the most surprising indicators turned out to be that women were most likely to choose the answer 'I don't like children'. This was stated by as many as three quarters of female respondents (compared to 43 per cent of male respondents; this reason for men was only in seventh place)!" says Onet’s report.

It is worth adding that aversion to children is not the only motivation. The survey found that the largest number of respondents indicated that having offspring might lower their standard and comfort of living (62 per cent). The same percentage of people are worried about the world situation, i.e. war, pandemics and the climate crisis.

Although it's been a while since the report was published, Twitter hasn't stopped discussing the results yet. Men are outraged that women do not like children and do not want to have them. They claim that women are spoiled with welfare and accuse them of being selfish.

"Free women will not bear children. Neither in Europe, nor in the States, nor in Asia. In a normal world, no one would care what the women have to say at all, they would just get married and do their duty," one man argues.

"It doesn't surprise me at all. Today's young women are generally selfish, they want to self-realize and travel. Children spoil the comfort of their lives. The best thing for them would be the man who works, cleans the house and takes care of the baby as well. She handles the remote control and the smartphone in the meantime," claims another gentleman.

On top of this, some men suggest that if women are free, they will never bear children. So the best thing would be to force them to do so and incapacitate them. Some even believe that women and their bodies are "public property" and should remain under men's control.

"Billions are spent on pro-demographic programmes, analyses, simulations, reports, and the women continue to think that their crotch and who they sleep with and how they sleep with them is a private matter. The truth is brutal: every woman is a public property," boldly claims one twitterer.

"Free women will not start families. Free women will not bear children. Emancipation should be rolled back, gender equality abolished and women should be put in the care of their fathers and husbands," urges another.

I don't think I need to say how toxic and misogynistic some men's attitudes are. Welcome to a world where women are still treated like objects. Nice? I don't think so, at least not when you own a uterus and identify as a woman.

Even if some women (and men) do not want to have children because they simply do not like them, there is nothing wrong with that. A wider perspective on this issue can be shed by the book 'Never, never, never' by Linn Strømsborg.

The female body is not and will not be the property of men. I would like to invite all men who are so eager to give birth to children to try the period pain simulator. Many men cannot endure it, let alone the pain of childbirth and the postpartum period.

Let's not forget about the 'responsibilities' that come with the birth of a child. You only have to look at the statistics on the payment of maintenance to understand that men so keen to advocate for offspring, later don't give a damn about them. The problem for men, I think, is that women are no longer detached from reality. They have access to education and social media, which often shatters this harmful, idealistic media-created image about having a child and giving birth.

I have the impression that young women simply already realise that giving birth to children is not the only job they have in this world. They are also aware of what such a decision entails. This can also influence their reluctance to have an offspring. And while there is nothing wrong with deciding not to, it is worth pointing out that it should only be up to us. Not some misogynists on Twitter.

Source: Twitter, Onet