top of page

Milk

Personal Project, 2024

Mother-04.png
Mother-05.png

“Individuality” has been highly valued in our generation. We, especially women, are encouraged to be independent by building our careers and achieving personal goals. Although it all sounds great to me, I have begun to ponder if the emphasis on individualism has influenced our attitudes towards marriage and childbearing.

Marriage, especially starting a family, requires selflessness and sacrifices. With an increasingly ageing population, lower marriage rates, higher divorce rates, lower birth rates, more people living alone, and the current economic climate, the pursuit of financial stability and personal enjoyment often takes precedence over family life. Childbearing is seen as an obstacle to women’s freedom and a negative impact on women’s careers and finances. Notably, a growing number of Millennials and Gen Z women are choosing to be childless, especially those who are highly educated and high earners. Is a child-free life really a new “phenomenon”? 

Breast Milk.png

While some of my girlfriends start having babies, I can’t help but wonder how difficult it is to transition to motherhood from being a career-minded, “strong and independent” woman.

Modern society promotes the idea to women that having a successful career is more important than being a devoted mother. We are told that being a full-time mum is not worth as much as a woman building her business empire.

While some working mothers are struggling with mum guilt because they have to leave their children for work (whether it’s by choice or not), some stay-at-home mothers are also struggling with the pressure to not provide financial support to their families or to put their careers on hold.

We hear the concept of “having it all” - it seems to me that being a good mother is just simply not enough in mainstream culture…

bottom of page