The Commodification of Sperm
June 21st, 2009 by Robert Franklin, Esq.Most sperm banks will not accept donations from men who stand under 5' 11" in height.
From there, Barbara Kay is off and running. It is, as she says, a fascinating tidbit of information and one I certainly didn't know. And, is so often the case, Kay's take on it is spot on. She pegs it for what it is - the interface of the woman who is too independent (i.e. not good at relationships with men) to have a man in her life, and the ages-old desire for a big, strong protector.
Kay goes on, and her words are better than mine:
Whether childless because of sexual orientation, a ticking biological clock aligned with bad luck in the marriage market, or principled misandry, they view their future child's fatherlessness with sanguine confidence and a clear conscience.
Amongst such committed egalitarians in all other gender-related matters, then, logic would suggest a willingness to accept height parity, or at least diversity. So why are these father-cleansing feminists choosing to "mate" with a stereotypically patriarchal symbol of physical dominance?
Because deep inside, they aren't buying the utopian theories they've superficially endorsed. Freed from the hassle of meeting Mr. Right, and at liberty to conjure up Mr. Right DNA, even women mate-free by choice want to perpetuate via their future child's hologram sire the same symbols of male strength and protectiveness women have prized since time immemorial. Their decision to " disappear" their child's father says manliness isn't important; their atavistically-driven entries on the sperm bank checklist say it is.
And, I might add, the decision to "disappear" their child's father says that they think far more of themselves than they do of their children. It's all about them and their desires and fears. Do children need fathers? That's their problem.
Read the whole piece here (National Post, 6/17/09).
Thanks to Jeremy for the heads-up.
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