I would like to thank this headline/byline combo for helping me set a record for the quickest "gross, pass" I've ever uttered in my life. The funniest part is framing 25 like it's some daringly young age. The average age of first childbirth is 26.

If you want a take on this issue that is smart and isn't naked pandering to the fantasies of pathetic men, I recommend @JillFilipovic's newsletter. Unlike anything Bruenig writes, Jill actually respects women. https://jill.substack.com/p/the-great-birth-rate-freak-out?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzMwMjg4LCJwb3N0X2lkIjozNjExODAwNywiXyI6IkRXd0RxIiwiaWF0IjoxNjIwMzk0OTAzLCJleHAiOjE2MjAzOTg1MDMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi05MzQ5Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.xMFDTQcw-IFcubog4EDrAYla0j6oWZpKAC3Wvlu7AnU

Every time I see Bruenig try to package her Schlafly-esque sexism as "leftism", I remember clearly one day when I was talking to some other kids in class about kids when I was 15 and I said I was never having kids. The teacher scoffed and said, "You'll change your mind."

Let's just say it's been more than 20 years and I haven't. Score: Essentialist ideas about female "nature", 0, realizing that women are the best judges of what they're actually thinking about themselves, 1.

Which isn't to say that everyone should have it all figured out at 15, 25, or any age. I certainly didn't. But I was the oldest of a close knit extended family and by 15, I had spent enough time around babies and toddlers to know it wasn't for me. And that's also okay!