Do you think the majority of single mothers were bamboozled by men?
I don’t know if the statistics exist anywhere, but I would imagine that the largest contributing factors to single motherhood are in this order (largest to smallest):
Divorce. 70-80% of which (no-fault type) is initiated by women.
I would assume hookups/casual sex resulting in a pregnancy that the woman decided to keep. I do not imagine that these men made false promises of fatherhood when they were just looking for a booty call. I could be wrong here, but I don’t think I am.
Probably men lying about their intentions and/or turning out to be bad/abusive fathers/husbands (lumping these together because it is same cause… poor discernment/deception). I clearly do not believe this to be the main cause of single motherhood, but I also recognize that this happens (more than it should).
Last, I would say women trying to baby trap men. It’s not super common (I hope), but it is common enough to mention.
Let me know if you disagree with my order of frequency or if you think I’m missing a major contributor.
I would be on the hook for about $1900/mo for one child, and in this state (California), there is no burden of proof that the money is being spent on my child. It could go to the mother’s gambling habit for all the court cares.
I mean, I do well on income, but not that well. I can promise you that my daughter does not cost $1900/mo to care for, though.
Drake got sued by a woman for vaginal burns… after she tried to use his (hot sauce-filled) condom to get pregnant. I mean, yeah, most people don’t make Drake money, but I think we can all agree there is incentive here.
I think the NBA had to make multiple statements and warnings to their players to take their used condoms with them after hookups (or something like that).
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Federline (Brittney Spears’ baby daddy) had her on the hook for $100k/mo for child support. He was also the baby daddy of 9(?) other children at the time. I heard about this on the radio like 8 years ago or something… Why did I hear about it on the radio? Because he was suing for more money.
Just pointing to more notable - albeit extreme - examples.
I love this and agree with it completely.
Buuut then I have to ask the question: why is single motherhood so prevalent if this is true?
After some of the comments in this thread, I’m not so sure that it isn’t a kink, lol.
But in this case, he added hot sauce to his used condom (as a preventative for re-use) and threw it in the trash. The case was dismissed by the judge, but the fact that this is the extent some people have to go through to avoid being baby trapped - is absurd. It serves an excellent anecdote for these conversations, though.
I’m surprised no one mentioned Iceland, who have a (relatively) sustainable population pyramid and more (non-immigrant) births than deaths, even in 2022/23, which is extremely rare for a Western country.
And their procreation policy is completely based on single moms.
I think it’s really hard to compare to a country that has a population smaller than most cities, and has such a serious inbreeding concern that they needed to make an app for it.
Its not like both my parents, and both my in-laws are pastors or have a masters in divinity. Or my brother has a PhD in Theology. Or the multiple courses I took getting a minor side degree in religious studies. Or going on multiple mission trips. Or having grown up in multiple churches, been confirmed, and have been to the Vatican multiple times. Or been a leader of small groups. Or bring my kids to church.
I appreciate your constant Christ-based responses.
I mentioned them precisely because they’re a special case - their women tend to give birth at biologically optimal time that’s integrated into a super-liberal societal framework.
After the reduction in infant mortality in the latter half of the 19th century, population growth in the Western world was driven by very poor people breeding like crazy, both in and out of wedlock.
Besides them, the only people that tender to have a lot of offspring were the very, very rich (either through multiple marriages or fathering illegitimate children) and the very religious.
Once you’ve reduced the religious influence on society (with the exception of Islam cough cough) you’ve seen the drop in the number of children with increased affluence. You want your children to live better that you did so naturally you won’t have six or seven of them as you’re unable to feed, educate and raise them.
Even replacement fertility rates with middle class couples in mid-thirties that decided to settle down are no feasible. Two children? Maybe? Five? No fucking way. Now the trend is to produce - and those that haven’t opted to become dog dads and dog moms - is one child in their forties (usually with medical assistance).
As recent fertility drops across the West have shown, people will not reproduce in sufficient numbers if it comes down only to people who make sound judgments. Single moms and deadbeat dads were an integral part of society for a pretty long period of time.
