An Unlikely Bastion of Male Reproductive Rights ?

[Hermiod]

Indeed. "I'm going to raise the child myself" turns out to mean "The women in my family are going to raise the child on my behalf". An exemplary role model of male parental rights.

Or, they agreed to help him because they're a family. That's true of a great many families on the continent.

Ronaldo might end up being a terrible father, I'm praising him as an example of a man making the same opportunity for single parenthood as thousands of single women have, not as a role model.

 

[Deckerd]

No you're praising him for being Ronaldo, since it's generally agreed on this thread that men have been doing this for an indefinite amount of time.

 

[Hermiod]

No you're praising him for being Ronaldo, since it's generally agreed on this thread that men have been doing this for an indefinite amount of time.

He's a surprising example but one worth talking about. If you think I'm praising the content of Cristiano Ronaldo's character then you don't know me very well at all, but then you do that a lot.

 

[Starkers]

Indeed. "I'm going to raise the child myself" turns out to mean "The women in my family are going to raise the child on my behalf". An exemplary role model of male parental rights.

ha ha, ah well if nothing else I bet he'll be around for the odd kick around as the kid grows up.

 

[Deckerd]

He didn't sing his national anthem you know.

 

[kimc]

Well he's named the kid after himself apparently. The baby is less than a month old and already he's left him with his mum and sister while he jets off on holiday with his girlfriend.

Just another person with too much money buying themselves a living fashion accessory.

In many cultures you're not fully an adult until you have a child. Now that he has that out of the way he can act as childish as he wants.

Cynical? A bit. However, women I know who have taken the "easy option" of going to a sperm bank aren't jetting off with boyfriends soon after...

 

[Starkers]

Well he's named the kid after himself apparently. The baby is less than a month old and already he's left him with his mum and sister while he jets off on holiday with his girlfriend.

Just another person with too much money buying themselves a living fashion accessory.

In many cultures you're not fully an adult until you have a child. Now that he has that out of the way he can act as childish as he wants.

Cynical? A bit. However, women I know who have taken the "easy option" of going to a sperm bank aren't jetting off with boyfriends soon after...

Well that's the difference isn't it, and why it isn't the same as a single woman going to a sperm bank, after all said woman would have to carry the baby to term, and then I doubt many would be in a fit state to go on holiday a month after (though I bet many might want to) Really the more accurate opposite of this would be a woman having her eggs implanted into a surrogate who then carries the baby and gives birth.

Obviously Ronaldo couldn't give birth even if he wanted to, but the fact of flying away when the child is still so tiny speaks volumes. Be very interesting to know how much involvement he had with the surrogacy process as well. did he pick the mother, did he even meet her, did he go to any ante natal classes, scans, was he there at the birth?

Or did he just wank into a cup and say "Bring me a child!"

 

[Hermiod]

It used to be the case, before IVF was invented, that if a woman, single or not, wanted a child, at some point she would have to have sexual intercourse with a man.

Then IVF came along and the process got a lot easier but a lot more clinical and detached. If she chooses not to, the woman need not ever even know the name of the father or what he looks like. As a result, a large industry was created where women pay for the sperm and the treatments necessary to have a child with only the most minimal involvement from a man.

But the idea also works in reverse. It's possible for a man to find a woman willing to have his child without having sex with her too. Problem is that, unlike when a woman does it, it's often illegal. Certainly, the mother's contribution is a lot greater than just donating a bunch of sperm to a sperm bank but that, to me, just says that the financial compensation should be greater too, not that it should be illegal.

Ultimately, the question is this: do single men or gay men have the same freedom to reproduce as their female counterparts ? I would say the answer is no.

 

[Deckerd]

I think Starkers is correct. The only direct correlation to what Ronaldo has done is if a woman pays another woman to have her baby.

 

[bluedana]

It used to be the case, before IVF was invented, that if a woman, single or not, wanted a child, at some point she would have to have sexual intercourse with a man.

Then IVF came along and the process got a lot easier but a lot more clinical and detached. If she chooses not to, the woman need not ever even know the name of the father or what he looks like. As a result, a large industry was created where women pay for the sperm and the treatments necessary to have a child with only the most minimal involvement from a man.

Sorry, small technical correction (Sorry!). Before IVF, there was, and still is, intrauterine (or "artificial") insemination (IUI), which only requires the introduction of sperm at the right time. No sexual intercourse required. IVF requires removal of eggs, fertilization, and re-introduction of embryo. (Sorry, couldn't help myself - I did try though.)

 

[Hermiod]

^Why are you apologising ? When did the practice become common ?

 

[bluedana]

^Why are you apologising ? When did the practice become common ?

I'm apologizing because I don't usually chime in just to correct someone, as opposed to adding something substantive to the conversation. I just couldn't help myself.