Guard (Bkk, Jan 09)
In Japan, asking the question like “When will you have a baby?” has become sexual harassment. It is because so many women started to speak up, how much pressure and insult these words can cause especially if they or their spouses have health conditions not allowing them to give birth to a baby.
Not so in other parts of Asia, though.
A couple of weeks ago, a receptionist of my office asked me the question, too.
“Do you have a baby?”
No.
“You should have one.”
Well, it’s not something that I get when I want.
“When you have one, you should have two.”
I was speechless. She’s in her early 20s. I had never asked these questions, plus urging me to have two babies, from someone young like her.
Soon I will have to meet my spouse’s colleagues, and I know they will ask me the same question. What frustrates me is that they never ask any question to him. Only they say is “Your are so selfish not to introduce us to your wife.” Why the hell don’t they ever talk about him having a baby? I never knew that I could have a baby only by myself.
I am preparing my answers for them.
- Please ask him, not me.
- We go to hospital monthly because of our health issues to have a baby.
- Am I worthless if I have no baby?
I guess the best answer is “Why the question?”
Oh yeah, that’s what I will say. Return a question with a question. I really do not know why they ask this to me anyway.
