China’s Gaslighting: Women’s Bodies Are Not Vessels for State Interests

China’s Gaslighting: Women’s Bodies Are Not Vessels for State Interests

When you look at China, it’s pretty clear that their approach to women’s bodies is a complete mess. First, Mao Zedong pushed for women to have as many babies as possible, treating them like nothing more than breeding machines to increase the population. He got what he wanted, but then things started to go downhill. Deng Xiaoping, realizing that China couldn’t feed all these people, decided to implement the one-child policy. And that meant forced sterilizations, forced abortions—the whole thing. Now, here we are with Xi Jinping wanting to increase the birth rate again. It’s like they can’t make up their minds.

It’s honestly wild how women have just been treated as tools for the state’s goals. First, China wanted women to have more kids, then they wanted fewer kids, and now they want more again. It’s such a huge gaslight to suddenly say, “more children is good,” when for so long, they were told “less children is better.” The truth is, fewer children is good, but not because some authoritarian leader says so. It’s because when women have the power to make their own decisions about their lives and bodies, it naturally leads to fewer children. That’s what we’re seeing right now.

And, honestly, if world leaders actually got their way and the birth rate shot up like they want, they’d probably just end up regretting it and go back to a one-child policy later on. So why keep playing this endless cycle? Why not just accept the natural decline in the birth rate and let things play out? Every time these male leaders push for a higher birth rate, they forget to consider that the economy and resources don’t just grow infinitely. They get surprised when there’s a setback, but it’s obvious that they haven’t really thought things through.

The truth is, when women control their bodies, it benefits everyone. But it’s not just about resources. It’s about women’s education. When women get educated, the economy actually gets better. More childbirth just makes things harder. Women should have the right to go to school, join the workforce, and not have children if they don’t want to. That’s not what male leaders want, but honestly, it will be way better for the country in the long run. Male leaders don’t understand the real benefits of women’s education because they’re too focused on controlling women’s bodies. They continue to make decisions that hurt both women and society, not realizing what could be achieved if they just let women live their lives on their own terms.

It’s time for women to take control and invest in their education. We have the power to shape a better future than any man could ever imagine, and it’s time we start doing just that. ♀