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Interesting essay on sex-positivity and the lack thereof.  Read this right after a BBC story on falling birth rates and had to wonder if there might be a co-relation there. When women were less educated and financially empowered, having a number of offspring offered her validation and also security for the future. It made sense that she felt incentivized to reproduce, specially if it improved her social standing. The quality of sex, the level of positivity and such did not matter much. The end goal was pro-creation so a woman endured what she had to. Increasingly that is not the case. 

Women have a lot of choice and there is no cachet attached with being the mother of a half a dozen children. The quality of sex and the feelings of positivity it promotes for the partner become part of her decision to become mother. If the conditions are middling to bad, the woman will focus on either improving them or moving on but getting pregnant will likely not be top of mind. In societies where women are yet to become free to pursue their own path and dreams, there could be a stronger desire to seek fulfillment through birthing children. 

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