Wednesday, September 06, 2006

No, there's no pressure here.

I was reading my news today. An article about Japan's Princess Kiko (who gave birth to a boy.. uh.. congrats?), with brief mention made of Crown Princess Masako. I'm not really into foreign politics, for the most part (I'm embarrassed to type that, tho it is true), but this article bothered me. For once, it wasn't the woman who had the baby that bothered me... but the woman who didn't.

Many of us have friends or relatives who are hoping, wishing, and nagging for more offspring. Can you imagine the increased burden if you had an entire country not only asking for you to have a baby... but to have a specific gender when you do? Imagine feeling like you had an obligation to your entire country. My sMil asking for a granddaughter sort of pales in comparison to that.

Imagine millions of people speculating why isn't she pregnant? Then after six years of marriage (and speculation) a very public miscarriage. Then - finally - after eight years of marriage and speculation, a birth ... only it's a girl. Still not good enough.

Not surprisingly, Princess Masako is said to be suffering from depression related to her reproductive situation. Well, no shit. I get depressed thinking I'm letting my husband down... throw in a few million countrymen and the stability of the family succession, and depression is not only understandable, it's practically required.

.. and then, to top it all off, the entire country goes apeshit over her nephew's birth.

I always wanted to be a princess when I was little. I wanted the sparkly tiara and white unicorn.

Now, I'm kind of glad I'm not a princess... although I still wouldn't say no to a sparkly tiara.

3 comments:

DD said...

That poor woman. Not only is her fertility literally under the microscope, but figuratively as well.

Kris said...

So right. At least my pressure is all from my own head.

I have a sparkly tiara and I highly recommend one. A few girlfriends and I bought them one year for a party- why wear a dorky hat on New Year's Eve when you can sport some bling? I do refrain from wearing it to work, though. Don't want everyone to KNOW I'm Queen of the World.

Lollipop Goldstein said...

You know, I've been following this story (and hoping that Kiko had another girl). And I don't even know these women, nor should anyone be wished infertility, but I somehow always imagine Masako as Cinderella who we all love and Kiko as the evil, bitchy stepsister. Like she's getting pregnant just to rub it in Masako's face. I know this isn't true--it's just a comment on how IF makes you view news events.