Manmade: Can Women ‘Trust’ Science?
How science and sexism come together to place enormous pressure on women
The ‘biological clock’ and ‘maternal instinct’ are made up.
The term biological clock was coined in the 1970s, in an article by a white man. The invented phenomenon has stuck around, allowing science and sexism to come together to place enormous pressure on women. “We are raised to believe that female bodies are time bombs. At the stroke of midnight, our eggs turn into dust,” says scholar Moira Weigel.
While it is true that female fertility declines with age, male fertility does too — but the biological clock places the entire responsibility of reproduction on women alone.
The maternal instinct — now being proven a myth — goes hand in hand with the biological clock further reinforcing unfair burdens on women. Darwin codified biblical thoughts about women being “natural caretakers,” completely ignoring the angst and exhaustion of caregiving women. Overtime, the idea of “naturalised caretaking” has seeped into everything causing guilt to many, including those who choose to mother and those who do not.
Seeing the biological clock and maternal instinct as “science” affects women actively. The mental pressure of childbearing decisions without information that women could have access to, are enormous.
Design Considerations
What if we only remembered to ask — what about women? Here’s what becomes possible:
- Increased Agency: What if women had access to fertility related information, should they want it, as part of their healthcare service?
- Shared Responsibility: What if fertility responsibilities were shared with partners, especially men?
- Advanced Narratives: What if fertility services ads and collateral represented genders across the board, instead of focusing on women?
The role of men is key to holistically design for women. A core reason that I’m building Design for Women is so that men can share the burden of leading that change with us. Are you ready to join our journey? — learn more here!
This post is an excerpt from Unconforming: a newsletter about Design for Women. Unconforming goes out every two weeks and also shares learnings from experts, job and other opportunities, examples and articles — all to make an impact in the women’s space. Sign up here to get it in your inbox!
