So because a problem withint the prison system is highlighted, that means all personal responsibility is abdicated? Why can't we work to improve the justice system while still holding individuals accountable? I personally don't believe that because someone has a drug problem, they deserve to be treated as sub-human…

Writing an article that will receive kudos from Jez readerships wouldn't exactly count as a "hammerblow", would it? Unless she is also working towards enacting legislation, this is really just an anecdotal story.

"Get a hobby, lady."

But see, that's just it.

Anecdotally (because I understand that you note you haven't experienced these same pressures), many of us can have a hobby — or six. I certainly do. We can have multiple advanced degrees; spend our weekends teaching adult literacy, adopting rescue animals, and organizing…

THIS. So much! Goddammit, you still have an identity of your own! Act like it, people (and also, I don't think I've ever seen a man do this).

I see it less as "ugh, get babies off Facebook" than as "ugh, can people not post 10000 pictures of their baby on the same day?" I feel the same about people who post incessantly about anything—their kids, their workouts, their job, their wedding planning, their meals, etc. And I'm sure being a parent is exciting, so…

I want to add that the callousness extends to that idea that nothing childless/childfree people do has merit or is important. Like, it can't be that important for you to get time off/a holiday off, you don't have a family. You don't have kids, so you can't possibly have anyone you need or want to spend time with. …

I get pressure about it all the time. Inevitably when you're getting to know your peers or coworkers, personal life comes up, and I say I have a bf. Then come the questions about marriage and kids, and of course people are curious as to why I don't want to get married, but they get really weird about me not wanting…

Nope, they don't have to make the time up. That's what's really annoying.

When I'm sitting in meetings and other people get to leave early to pick up their kids, I get pretty jealous. I'm a teacher, so when parents ask if I have children and then are dismissive of my opinion because I don't have any, I get pretty annoyed.

How petty it is really depends on how egregious the situation becomes. There was a fabulous article here on Jez about this "other second shift" that single and/or childfree women take on to cover for those with children. I do resent taking on extra hours of work or finishing experiments for those who need to get…

Man. If you haven't felt any pressure to have kids, consider yourself lucky!

You've never felt pressure to reproduce? Well, I have to ask:

Ugh exactly. Why am I supposed to congratulate people on doing what they were expressly evolved to do? You had one job, human, to procreate, and now you want a cookie for it? Uh-unh. Fuck that.

NO ONE cares about anyone else's kids unless they're immediate family or REALLY good friends. Even then...

My big issue with all these baby pictures is that people put them up and I'm supposed to say what? "OMG SO CUTE!" Really? Because most babies aren't cute. Your baby isn't cute. Well, maybe. But mostly they're not.

I couldn't care less about the autonomy argument re: infants, because, short answer, they have none. Leave an infant alone for a little bit and see how much autonomy they have. And as for the kid growing up and being upset that there are some embarrassing baby pictures out there? Grow up. Everyone has embarrassing…

But, there's a difference in terms of scope. Those parents were controlling who saw those images. Even if you have a "private" Facebook account, when you put pictures on the internet you lose some control. I remember reading a story about a woman who posted a picture of her daughter with Down's Syndrome and it was…

The difference is that you have invited these people to share a special day with you because you love them and want them to be part of it. Asking them to specifically fork over some cash to be part of it is treating your guests like an ATM, period. Especially so if you're "asking" for the plate amount of the wedding…

My starting point is that I'd like to do away with the idea of expected wedding gifts altogether. It should be a party, and if your best friend wants to buy you something you collect and your brother wants to give you a scrapbook of the two of you as kids and your mother-in-law wants to give you a piece of her…

Wow! That is super gutsy, and I want to be friends with that woman!