The Friday Five

This week’s roundup of our favorites from across the interwebs to help you make sense of men and women.

1. How Older Parenthood Will Upend American Society by Judith Shulevitz of The New Republic discusses the scary consequences of the grayest generation, but says that when women enjoy the same access to education and professional advancement as men but face penalties for reproducing, then, unsurprisingly, they don’t.

2. There’s No Perfect Time To Start Having Kids by Noah Berlatsky of The Atlantic responds to Judith Shulevitz’s New Republic piece (above) and says let’s all take a deep breath: “Our lives are our lives, not some exercise in game theory. You don’t get a thousand permutations; you get a single story.”

3. Family Isn’t Dead—It’s Getting Better by Jill Filipovic of The Guardian says if people abandon the traditional model and forgo children or marriage, it does not destroy societies, it can liberate them.

4. Ultimate Disney Princess Castle: Your Time Is Up by Hanna Rosin of Slate.com says this season’s gender-neutral toys will finally prove that boys and girls aren’t so different after all.

5. When Your Daughter Asks For A Victoria’s Secret Gift Card by Nanette Fondas of The Atlantic asks: Is there any way to shield young women from damaging messages about their bodies?

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