I remember telling my parents "I don't want to have biological kids, I'd rather adopt." I was met with "But you have to pass on your DNA." I have 8 siblings. I think they can pass on my DNA for me -_-

As an Asexual, I'm constantly told that I'll get over it.

Then you have Ivypool and Fernsong where Fernsong is "I WILL RAISE THE KITS!" their relationship is so cute.

Honestly pressuring people to have children in general is disgusting. If someone doesn't want kids, don't make them. If they crack and have offspring they aren't ready for, that could endanger the pressured and the kids. Edit: lmao ignore my stupid ass this is a very gendered issue

Unwanted children can cause big problems. Brokenstar was a unwanted child, just saying.

I never want kids cause: • Babies cry wayyy too much and it gives me a headache • Babies smell • Young kids get into everything • i dont have the patience to listen to a kid whine and complain, especially because i have anger issues and can lash out and hurt someone. Also im not autistic, i just hate children Edit: ok so uhm, apparently i fall on the autism spectrum, so uh, *ok that works too*

I feel like ivypool x fernsong need more love. Fernsong wants kits but is willing to wait until ivypool is ready AND they are willing to make sacrifices/compromises for eachother. (Mostly Fernsong for Ivypool though.) He's so selfless. People need to look past the fact ivypool got a mate and see how well they did it, because they subverted all my expectations. I hated the idea of ivypool getting a mate at first, but then i realized her mate was objectively the best cat ever (dont take that last bit seriously I just love my son) Fernsong > every male love interest of a female protag in the series if you like men, get yourself a man like Fernsong. Fernsong is best queen. I really hope he takes after his namesake of ferncloud and becomes the one cat whos always in the nursery loving all the kits. Let's slash those gender norms with a sledgehammer!

We need a female warrior protagonist who does not fall in love with some lame ass poorly written cat and has babies right away It feels that almost every female protagonist is exactly the same, she is a sweet pure and anxious character who falls in love with the first cat she sees and never stands up for herself, ugh

Finleap’s gone into the Bumblestripe zone, let’s just hope he doesn’t move into the Ashfur zone. And tbh I don’t hate FernXIvy it’s because I like to think that Fernsong knows Ivypool doesn’t want to be cooped up in the nursery when he says essentially “Once the kits can eat solid food, I’ll stay in the nursery while you can return to your duties”

I like how you post this on Women Appreciation/Rights Day

i'm also autistic and i really DO NOT want kids for the same reason. plus children are gross?

And this is why we love Mousefur, She never took a mate or had kits. She was perfectly happy. No one judged her and she was a great warrior. Edit: John loved Hamilton. There is evidence of this. He was a great man who died in combat after the war ended before the new about the end of the war reached him.

I deal with the same issue. “You’ll change your mind.” Disgusting. I’d rather be single for the rest of eternity. I’m also sick of hearing “It’s selfish of girls to not have children” believe it or not, I have heard that bull. D I S G U S T I N G .

The thing is, at the end of Raging Storm there was this bit: ‘Twigbranch looked bigger than usual, Alderheart wondered if she grown.’ Or, it was something like that People have pointed out that this could mean twig will have kits, I really hope this isn’t the case But when I first read that, I believed it was like a hint to the readers that twig is more mature now and more wise, I hope that is what it meant

i never get an "ok that's your choice" i get a "you will want them, eventually" or looks like i'm a freak....and if you think people's responses are bad when i say i don't want children, you should see their faces when i say i don't want to get married....

Omg I know how you feel! People always say stuff like "sure you won't....." or "you'll change your mind about that" and it's so frustrating and annoying!

Ugh, I'm a man who doesn't want kids, and I get pressured too. Maybe not as much as women, but aside from my hatred of children (loud, gross, expensive, a lot of work, not that I'd ever hurt a kid purposefully though, I just avoid them as much as possible) I've also got severe mental disabilities that would make me a horrible parent, I'd probably end up abusing and neglecting a kid without even knowing I'm doing it due to a combination of my own upbringing and my struggles with mental disability. It's even worse considering I'm probably biologically incapable of reproduction, and on top of that I'm gay so no go on biological children even if I am fertile (as surrogates and such wouldn't work for the kind of person I am). What about the men and women who try and fail to have kids? Born infertile? Then they're told they're selfish because ignorant people refuse to listen. It's generally a terrible situation, as an unwanted kid will often know in one way or another... I wouldn't even exist if it weren't for my dad pressuring my mom to give him a second child, and although she doesn't regret having me now, at the same time she thought she wouldn't be having another kid, which may have possibly fed into my feelings of isolation and alienation from the rest of the family growing up. With how this impacted me, I can strongly say that no child deserves to be born only to be unloved, mistreated, or simply in a situation where the parents can't provide for them... My boyfriend wants children someday but respects my decision and we've compromised to plan on having "cat babies" by adopting cats from shelters and rescuing otherwise helpless abandoned kittens when we're able, when a normal couple would be considering human children. I just wish my family understood this decision, as no matter how accepting of my sexuality and personality and career choices they get, they seem unwilling to accept that I don't want children... This turned into a huge rant, sorry! My point was supposed to be that men sadly suffer from pressuring too and that there's also gay couples who can't adopt or surrogate or anything, and infurtility, that plays into it. To anyone who read all that, hi! I appreciate the dedication

Also, I already commented. But Ivypool's mate is Lionblaze's son. Quick the firestar clones are inbreeding run.

At the end of Raging Storm *cough* raging storm...raging fans *cough* Aldeheart mention that she looks "bigger than usual" at the last chapter and I was like "......nope...nope nope nope nope nope nope nope NOPE NOPE!!!"

Our population is large enough. Let those who dont want kids not have them. It might help.

*she protec* *she attac* but most importantly *she dont give a crap* #twigbranch

i can relate, i keep saying that i dont want to have kids, but my mother, grandmother, and aunts that i will change my mind one day..welp they are very wrong.

Me: I don't want kids. Others: Oh, you'll change your mind! Me: ... You know I'm gay, right?

When I was younger I didn't want to have kids because I was scared I would have to have shots(?) I was like 6 when I thought this. I only wanted to adopt. Then when I was older, I still didn't want to have kids. Not really because of the needles anymore but the thought of having to go through Morning Sickness and having labor pains kind of scared me. But I still want to adopt. Then later I also figured out that I was Asexual :) I'm glad I am.

You think six years is a massive age gap for a human relationship!? Age differences in cats and humans are MAJORLY different. Thornclaw and Blossomfall are like an old man's and young woman's relationship. It's far more gross than your parents being six years apart. But I 100% agree with everything else in the video. I grew out of the idea of never having kids. I still don't want to have kids personally, but I no longer think I will never have kids. I'll just adopt instead.

Nobody ever believes me when I say that I don't want kids. They always tell me that I'll change my mind eventually, and it really frustrates me.

I don’t want kids either. I’m still only fourteen, but I think the concept of society assuming all women have to have kids is gross.

Something similar, but not exactly: I have realized that i don’t feel ANYTHING towards others when people started dating, like, I never did. Nothing. As a thirteen year old, I realized, “I’m probably ace.” I know is possible that maybe I will find somebody to love, but until then, I’m just telling people I’m asexual so I don’t feel as bad when I have to turn others down. The thing is, people always say, “Oh, you’ll change your mind.” And it honestly annoys me. Like, I know it is possible, but I have a feeling I won’t. And for the children thing, I don’t want to give birth because I’m scared of being in pain like that. I also don’t want to deal with four to five year olds because my sister is a massive jerk (to the point that she clawed my arm and I still have scabs even though it was almost a week ago) So I’m basically scared of her. But even with that, people say “You’ll change your mind when you’re older.” No I won’t. If I do, I’m adopting older kids that arent as likely to be adopted, so they can know that they have a home that will always love them and focus on school and following their dreams without ever having to worry about changing schools or anything. Sorry, kinda ranted here.

I was honestly almost moved to tears, I'm so glad someone understands It's especially frustrating and degrading when someone openly laughs at you and mocks you for not wanting to have children, no matter how adament you are about it

thank you finally, somebody, that understand. I never want to have children but everybody in my life tells me that I'll change my mind and it's really frustrating.

I can relate to this on a personal level. And I feel glad that my parents do not pressure me to have kids in my future. I choose to not have kids, as I also have Aspergers and do not have the patience for children. I personally don't think I would make a good mother. I would honestly mess up their lives. I couldn't live with that. Being unable to raise them properly in a good home. I couldn't provide them that. So kudos to you for this vid. Preach! P.S. Babies are annoying and disgusting imo. I would rip my hair out if I had any.

That JonTron clip was beautiful

What if I be an Alderheart and adopt?

At first I did think Twig should dump Fin flat-out, but the fact that he saw her point of view and is willing to wait gives me hope. As nice as it would be, you can't realistically dump every person who has this POV from your life. If they're forceful and persistent then by alle mans. Things will eventually come to a head. But you do have to compromise sometimes. I don't mean that Twig should give in and have kits, I mean that Twig should allow him to change. If he doesn't, then yes dump him. That's what Dovewing did to Bumblestripe. But if he would have changed and she dumped him anyway? Well, regret sucks. I'm glad they handled it the way they did. This plot worked out way better than some of the other romantic ones.

I had the ‘you must have kids to a happy woman’ speech shoved down my throat as well and it made me not want kids but before that I wanted them. Now I want kids but I don’t wanna be pregnant.

If I remember correctly, didn't Hollyleaf tell Squirreflight that she didn't want kits? And Squirrelflight told her that it was okay to not want kits? Anyways Squirrelflight is a good mother who had motherhood pushed on her from Starclan but never blamed the kits for it. Also Whitewing tried to push Dovewing to have kits in Omen of the Stars. Dovewing told her mom she wasn't interested in Bumblestripe, and Whitewing was like "well you have to keep the clan going". Okay just fact checked it. It's in chapter 3 of the forgotten warrior.

Let's just face it... Ivypool just wasn't meant to have kits

Technically Twilight is the American version of Inuyasha

I've never wanted kids since the day I was born basically. Even as a little child, I thought children were disgusting. Every mother, including my own, I have met has told me I would change. My mom's cousins even tried to force me to like their child, to hold her and to be around her, which made me really uncomfortable and angry. I'm just really happy that my boyfriend is the same, that he doesn't want children and thinks they're disgusting too. I can't never understand how people find children adorable at all...

I personally agree, over the past few years iv had to deal with a friend trying to convince me that reproducing is my only option and my mom telling me that ill change my mind when I grow older.

Can I just bring attention to Acorn Fur? When Moth Flight decided on the medicine code to ban medicine cats from having a mate or kits, Acorn Fur was startled and slightly angry. She had been slowly growing a mutual attraction for her clanmate, Red Claw. However, she didn't let this get in the way of continuing being Skyclan's medicine cat. She willingly gave up her ability to be mates with Red Claw so that she could continue to pursue her dreams and to serve her clan in the best way she could.

I hate how all females are referred as being: Pretty, sleek, blah blah And the males get to be strong and powerful! Like: C'mon this was literally written BY females!

*John Laurens will NEVER be forgotten and I will make sure that happens*

I never liked the idea of havings kids,I HATE kids. I feel like I have wasted my life if I have children tbh

You forgot about Mousefur! 😄

I feel like characters should allowed to be shitty characters sometimes. Kinda flawed like the normal world.

Me: *sees new video* OWO *YEETs self into vid* Edit: After watching this video, I can relate to you, QR. But as I am growing, I do want a(one) kid, but not by birth. I would want to adopt a kid around 10. Like Brindleface adopting Cloudtail, I will cherish the kid like my own. I don't care if I'm a mother, I'd want the kid to be like, my best friend. I'd want them to feel like I want them to stay. Again, I have no idea how I'll feel once I'm in my 20s. I don't even know how my gf feels about children, so it'll wait until the time comes. Sorry for this ramble, but I can agree with you, Quiet Rage on a certain level.

whoa, never really thought of gender stuff in warrior cats. nice video!

I'm absolutely adamant about not having children. I don't fancy the agony of childbirth, and the thought of having something growing within my womb just makes me very uncomfortable. Also, I don't wish to have the responsibility of a baby. When a baby cries...it really, really grates on my nerves. I'm twenty now, and for years I've been adamant about not having children. My family still say that I may change my mind, but I won't. I won't change my mind. I'm not interested in having children, and I'm not interested in having sex either. Anyway, that's over. Just thought I'd share my own beliefs about childbirth.

***Spoilers for Leopardstar's Honor*** This is actually an issue I have with Frogleap (even sounds like Finleap)....he tried to pressure Leopardstar to have his kits. He even admitted to being selfish and wants a mate that wants kits. Granted, it's _okay_ to want that of course, but his total rejection for Leopardstar after she chose being a deputy and expectation of her to just do this is pretty sad and doesn't make it seem like he loved her at all. And then he gets with another she-cat right after, ugh.

Hey Quiet Rage! You noticed most of your videos don’t have “pictures” or artwork for each topic and are mostly podcasts. I don’t know if you will read this but here goes nothing! I find your videos very well thought out and a lot of the points are really good! I was wondering if you would like me to do art for your vids for free?

I HATE it when people say 'You'll get over it.' If someone says that they don't want kids, THEN THEY DON'T WANT KIDS!!! I was ANGRY when Blossomfall and Thornclaw became mates, I was like, "BUT BLOSSOM WAS FINE BEING SOLO! WHY DID THEY CHANGE THAT!?" I appreciated that Fernsong said that he would take Ivypool's place in the nursery, though, but I was STILL mad! Not everyone wants to have kids, so people stop pressuring other people to have kids! Edit: PEOPLE NOT WANTING TO HAVE CHILDREN IS NOT SELFISH! Edit #2: I have both ADHD and Autism, I have to wear sound-muffling headphones when I am not in my house because when I hear a loud noise, it feels like my ears get murdered, I am only okay with loud music and videos.

I’m in the same situation as you. My female friends and family always talk about wanting children, but when talking to me they scoff and say I’ll change my mind about not wanting children when I’m older. Honestly it really pisses me off (excuse my language) when they say that. Not everyone wants/ is ready to have children and it makes me sick to think that so many people fit women into the “they MUST have children” norm. Don’t get me wrong I love children but I personally do not want any once I am an adult! So when I found this video I was so glad to find someone to agree on this topic with me. And by the way some children make me easily angry since I sometimes have a short temper, so children are a no go for me. I’m mostly comfortable with babies for the most part.

I’ve always told my grandparents that I never wanted kids, my grandmother literally said: “Then who’s going to have my grandkids?” I, honestly was shocked, she has THREE OTHER GRANDKIDS plus my cousins! And she expects ME to have “her” grandkids. Also one of my guy friends, when I said I didn’t want kids, I’ll bet you can guess...he said I will have kids. To this day, I’m strongly against having children, and I don’t plan of changing my mind:

listen mom, grandma and aunt linda, me not wanting children isnt the same as me when i was 14 with goth makeup yelling "ITS NOT JUST A PHASE *MOM*" edit: warriors: very political forest cats another edit: "yes, i shall bring innocent children into the world with my familial problems, poverty, and general disdain for them"

Preach! Forcing a woman to have children and call them selfish for having something they don’t want is disgusting.

I, for a long time, thought that my disinterest in having a partner or children stemmed from selfishness. I have tried to imagine myself with my own child or a partner, and it just doesn't bring the sense of happiness or excitement I would expect. But this video made me realize that it can be as simple as "I just don't want a relationship or kids". Also, I totally understand the whole "being told I'll change my mind." My Mom says I will. First off, leaving the emotional aspect out, I have some sort of pain disorder. I can't even handle needles without bawling, how can I handle some of the WORST PAIN IMAGINABLE (childbirth)!? Secondly, I'm 14, Mom! Why are you discussing my non-existent future children!?

Oh my goodness, this is very relatable. Now I love my mother, and I know she means well. But I’ve felt certain.. expectations from her. She just assumes I will marry a man and have children, even though I have never displayed any interest in doing those things. Actually, I often say how much I don’t like the idea of me having children. She assumes that any friend I have that’s male I am interested in romantically. And the other day, when I expressed how uncomfortable I am the idea of pregnancy, she replied “Oh, I can totally imagine you being pregnant and loving it.” All I could think was: Why? Because it’s what everyone else does? Because it’s what society expects you to do? I assume so. Though, I didn’t say this aloud, it was very frustrating.

I love your channel so much Quite Rage

I get you, Quiet ... i am autistic too and i HATE Children. They are loud, anoying and wreckless. I had a crying baby next to me at a train once and asked the mother to make it stopp because i would get strong headache. She scoulded me for being a cruel, wreckless person for not accepting the child. Hell, HER Child was screaming the whole Train together and she did NOTHING about it!! I was asking nicely to make her child stopp HURTING ME!!! Thanks for such woman, world ...

They aCtuAllY gET their plots FROM Jontron. Obviously *flips hair*

God do I relate to this A LOT. I honestly felt like crying, because finding someone with similar views on the matter is not easy. I've been told the same things by my family and sometimes their words really scare me, even when they don't mean any "harm" and it's just my "paranoia". Luckily, my friend group is amazing, but it really disgusts me that we have to even endure this. I also hope that Twigbranch doesn't have kits right away either. Anyway, thank you so much for this video, Quiet Rage!

For years I've told everyone around me that I don't want children, but they always tell me that I'm going to change my mind someday. But I've been on this bandwagon ever since I was six. I don't like kids, at least I don't like the idea of having one.

My parents have an age gap of eight years; I believe they met when my mom was in her late twenties and my dad was in his thirties, and almost immediately clicked with each other. The largest gap between me and another person was almost ten; I was 19 while my then girlfriend at the time was almost 30. We both had mutual feelings and made the choice to date, mostly despite the long distance between us. As adults, it was our decision, despite what others thought. I wasn't happy with Thornclaw and Blossomfall mostly because it came straight out of the blue, and I actually like Ivypool and Fernsong. Also, if someone says things like 'you'll change your mind' or 'haha that's funny' or laugh to the thought of you saying you don't want to have children, let them say what they will. They're only empty comments that were made to insult or pressure you into changing your mind. I can't really relate to how that must feel though because I've mostly been around people who were supportive of things like that, especially since I can't take care of a child due to asperger's and my anxiety. I took a parenting and childhood development class in high school and one of the projects the students got to do was take home a fake baby that would cry randomly when turned on for a change, feeding, or burping, and I failed horribly because my anxiety got too high and I began having a meltdown due to autism. I took the class again the next year, did the assignment again to try and prove that I could do it, but I failed again because of the same reasons. Not everyone wants a child ever, or until later in life, or in my case even capable, and people should respect that. It's never selfish to not want them. Plus, they're expensive to take care of. Sorry for the long comment and for my opinion x-x

I'd love to see a couple that wants kits but is unable to have them. Perhaps it hurts the relationship for a bit until the couple realizes that they don't need kits to be happy. All they need is each other. Or maybe they aren't too disappointed but other cats keep bringing it up and talking about how they feel bad for the couple. The couple gets annoyed by all this and does something that makes the other cats realize that they're fine and don't need kits. Unrelated to that... The Raging Storm started out with all the Baby Boomers complaining about the new Millennial leader. It was perfect. Or PURRfect haha. ...I'll leave now.

The having kids thing reminds me of the ending to the hunger games. There is an epilogue where Katniss describes her children playing in the meadow and describes that it took 11 years of begging from Peeta for her to finally agree to have them. I like Peeta but if he loved Katniss so much, he would have been happy with just her, and he shouldn’t have begged so much for children, I’m just glad he didn’t force it on her and he let her agree first.

finleap has become an almost full bumblestripe. when finleap just finally agreed with twigbranch to wait, it was when the book chose to end. and also that dead mother of twig and violet went up to violet and tree, who weren't mates yet, that starclan clearly wanted treexviolet to be canon so they made sure without the permission of the two to make them reproduce. i was watching this while i typed this so if you mentioned this during the vid then oWo then I clearly failed this cOmMeNt. Also, it's Women's History Month, apparently, so... this seems like an appropriate video to wAtCh

Oh I'm full on with you about not wanting kids. Even before I knew how that stuff worked, I didn't want kids. I saw them annoying when I was younger and couldn't imagine having want one. Now it's because of my mental state and I can barley handle my cousins who are younger than ten. Yet I still get "oh just wait until you're older" or "you'll change your mind later"

I haven't read the newest books yet, but I will once I'm done with Sign of the Moon. :) Twigbranch deserves all the love

I love this video so much, and relate to it a lot! I've never wanted kids, but was always told 'oh, don't worry, you can still change!' as if there was something wrong with me for not wanting to spew out more parasitic spawn onto this already overpopulated planet??? I've always thought that babies are annoying, loud, and expensive, and I'd have to care for them and try not to screw them up for life. Also, my lazy ass doesn't want to have to spend so much of the time I could be using to do other things on a crying, screaming, snotty pink alien that does literally nothing. I don't want to be a bad parent either. It's surprisingly easy to mess a kid up, and I don't want to put that on anyone. Tack on the fact that currently I think I'm aroace, and you've got yourself a big stinkin pile of 'nope'. Also, my brother has also expressed the same uninterest in creating more humans, so the bloodline dies with us. Take that, ancestors!

I actually loved this book. I found it very interesting and the plot kept me hooked all the way through; I also respect it for taking on serious issues and exploring areas they haven’t before. This is the best book in VOS, in my opinion. But I loved how you used this book to address a bigger underlying issue. People need to stop trying to change women’s minds if they don’t want children. Like you said, some people just say things like “oh you’ll change your mind” as if it’s inevitable. Please stop. We’re not just baby-makers.

It's women's rights/appreciation day. Edit: I also have parents who have a significant age gap. My mom is 36 and my step-dad is 24. 12 years apart! My dad is 34 and my step-mom is 40. 6 years apart! It disgusts me to be honest. I don't know why. I guess it's just the thought that my mom was 18 when my step-dad would've been 6 and my step-mom would've been 18 when my dad was 12. It's also a bit disturbing to me since my step-dad is only 9 years older than me, closer to my age than my mom!

This video made me feel a lot better. I don’t want to have kids , I find annoying how everyone says Oh you’ll change your mind , or they’ll say you have to pass on your dna , I may not have any siblings but I have cousins I’m sure they can pass it on for me

Thank you so much for saying this! All my life, I've been telling people I don't want a husband or children and the answer is nearly always the same: "you'll change your mind when you meet the right guy". When I learned the term 'asexual' and found it applied, I was accused of following trends. I was just lucky enough to have a mom who supports me and let me figure out for myself that I'm not actually against raising kids, I just truly don't want a mate. The worst thing I can imagine is having someone slowing me down, making me compromise my dreams for theirs, and taking control away from me. I get angry when people give my pets orders! And I do realize that as any kids I do parent grow, I will compromise with them, slow down on my dreams to help them pursue theirs, but that will be a gradual thing, something that the child and I grow toward together.

8:36 hey don’t diss Inuyasha. It is way better than Twilight

I have a friend who had to live on a shared house due to her financial struggles. She found herself with many roommates, several of them being mothers with kids. Nothing problematic, right? Here's what happened: Those women also were on a bad economic situation, all of them with more than one kid and not all of them had the father(s) of their kids helping them. Do you know what these women did to my friend, a 30 years old woman with no partner or children? They quarreled her every single day because she didn't have kids. They belittled her, told her she was crazy, that she would lose her chance and that she would be sorry. She was harassed even by the husbands, and had to leave the house as soon as possible. The worst thing was that these people didn't care about their children. They went with the "the older sibling takes care of the rest" philosophy and kept the machine going, while the kids were neglected since day one. Sometimes I don't know if these situations happen because of sistemic oppresion, because of toxic partners or just people being awful.

Another way to think about ThornxBlossom Warriors typically can retire around the Age of 7-8 that gap between Blossom and Thorn is nearly an entire warriors career.

I to have experienced this but I’m extremely grateful that at least my mom is understanding and supportive. Although she says that one day I might change my mind in regards to having children (as she to didn’t want them at my Age), she also says if I don’t she doesn’t care - i’m her child and all that matters is that I’m happy - and I’m so appreciative of that. Although I have to say I think your comments on the age gap were pretty ridiculous. I’ve known people with 15 year old age gaps and even a 22 year gap and there perfectly happy lmao... it doesn’t immediatly mean it’s toxic.

I know this video is a bit older so no one will really see this, but I'm kind of shocked how much I relate to you now when you're talking about how people kept laughing at you saying you never wanted to have kids. I never really wanted kids either because I'm just very uncomfortable with the subject. I never really said anything about this to my parents around the time I first saw this video, but I eventually brought it up in a conversation with my mom. After that, my mom kept telling me constantly how good of a mother I'd be and how being pregnant was one of the greatest experiences of her life. I eventually snapped at her that I thought it was disgusting, which she responded to by sending me pictures of different people form TV show's I've watched who are having kids, saying that it isn't gross. After a while of this torment, I decided just to sit down with her and have a conversation about how gross pregnancy makes me feel. She was considerate during our conversation, but a few days after, she made another comment about me having kids. My mother is a great person, and accepts me and my sister a lot better than most families do (we're both bi, and my sister has a girlfriend), but this combined with the fact that she sometimes reveals that she finds my sister dating another girl disgusting makes me kind of not want to tell her stuff anymore. I know this was long and probably doesn't make any sense, but I just wanted to vent a little bit in the comment section of an old youtube video lol. I hope in the future parents will be a little more understanding about their children's feelings, and kids now should know not to put up with this shit. Feel how you want to feel and do what's most comfortable for you, not what makes other people happy. Love ya'll

That's a very relatable situation for me. My family also laughs when I say I don't plan on having kids, and people just kind of brush me off like "oh, she will some day". But I REALLY don't want kids, so I understand how you feel. (This is just to show you I understand btw, not to make it about me)

I...will not be going into the age gaps between my mother and some of her boyfriends. *cough*Cougar.*cough* Haha, I loved that Bluefur and Oakheart part. "Whoops." I actually don't see any part of the code where it says that leaders and deputies can't have a mate or kits, unless there was something I missed, I think it's only implied that it would be a difficult decision(and also an extremely sexist rule, as many male leaders had mates, so why wouldn't the females be able to?). Kids are hard to care for, especially when no one is willing to help(that is a huge thing, everyone pushes people to have kids, but then no one wants to help the mom/dad/parents when they finally arrive).

I remember I used to really want kids when I was young, but the older I got and the more stories I heard from my mother the worse it sounded. now I have a huge list of reasons i probably won't have kids. which I'm totally gonna write down below. 1 marriage sounds like a trap (long story) 2 I'm pretty sure I'm gay (I also might be asexual idk) 3 children are annoying (no matter what age they are) 4 pregnancy/childbirth sounds awful 5 I'm terrible with people and would probably suck as a parent 6 I don't want to be stuck with that kind of responsibility for 18 years 7 I want to be able to do what I want without anything getting in the way. 8 if I ever wanted to, I could always play with the kids my sister, brother, or dozens of cousins might have. so I don't even need my own. 9 if I had kids I'd hardly ever get a private moment to myself ever again. (and I really like being alone.) 10 I don't want to have to worry about getting enough money to care for them all the time. 11 who needs kids when you can get pets. (pets are so much less work) 12 etc. nowadays I imagine I'd probably live in a quiet house with just me, my future partner (not married but still together), and my pets. focusing on my career and making a name for myself. that life sounds perfect to me. thanks to whoever read this whole thing XD.

Thank you for sharing your feelings about having kids, your experience of people's reactions, and the systemic reason WHY women are expected to have children. I hadn't thought of it like that before. There is actually someone in my life who, despite her age, feels the exact same way you do, who knows she doesn't want kids, and gets the same reactions from people. A smile here, or an eyeroll there, and truthfully, I was one of them. Never again. So thank you! Thank you so much!! By the way, your channel is so awesome! I love watching your videos or even just having them on to listen to while I'm working. Thank you for making content! Also, for clarification on what constituted someone being "feeble-minded", when IQ tests became all the rage, a test that was originally designed to test if French children were ready for the 1st grade, (I swear I'm not making any of this up. Adam Ruins Everything did a well-done segment on IQ tests if you're interested) IQ tests do not measure intelligence. Especially early on, you were more likely to do well on the test if you had a similar background and life experiences to the test makers, which at that point were rich white men. People used black Americans low IQ scores as reason to have people STERALIZED. (I tried looking for the clip specifically about the sterilization of people, but could only find the small bit about IQ tests sadly. I'll still link it here if you are interested) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jZmfiNR8ut6Wn2Q.html

Someone: *mentions historical figure* Theatre kids: is that a Hamilton reference I smell?

My parents were far apart in age when they got married. Like...my biological dad now is old enough to be my grandpa. That’s ten-fifteen years or something. My aunt gave me a book where a 15-year-old eventually marries a guy who was 30 or something when they met. Possibly older. It was in a time where that happened a lot but I was still grossed out and said, “wow, he’s old!” (Compared to her). I think I was sensitive about age gaps because of my personal situation. And my dad was a jerk so that made it worse. Luckily my mom remarried. I don’t want to have kids because I realized I would hate having kids and it was just my stupid body making me think I wanted them. Took me a lot of babysitting and nannying to realize that. Other people's kids are fine but I wouldn't want kids. If my characters ever had kids, it would never be planned and they wouldn't be married but they'd get through okay. I also have a bias against marriage.

Trust me, I don’t want kids either. I know what you were going through Edit: Not too long ago I told my mom I didn’t want kids and she said “Well you’re ruining my chances to be a grandmother!” and then laughed... I told her she still had her son seeing as my sister also doesn’t want kids... but she didn’t care... UUUUUUGGGGGHHH!!!

You essentially explained why I love Katsa from The Graceling Realms series. No kids, no husband. Permanent, faithful lover, but no kids. ☺️

“Six years older than my mother.” Ok, for a start, we’re talking about cats here, and 6 years older is like 60 years older? And also, my friend’s parents have an age difference of ten years, and my parents have an age difference of five years. So it’s absolutely not uncommon to have minor age differences between parents, but when it’s Blossomfall and Thornclaw? They have the equivalent of, what, 50 years between them?

There's also the simple fact that some people can't afford children or physical can not have them due to problems it would cause. Wheather someone wants kids is their choice and no one else's and should be respected. Maybe they'll change their mind and maybe they won't but either way that should always be left as their decision alone.

I agree with you. I once mentioned to my mom that I don't want to bear children of my own and that I'd rather adopt because the idea of birthing a child terrifies me and she just shot back at me a story about her coworker thinking the same thing and changing her mind the moment her kid was born and I thought this was seriously wrong to bring up. I'm actually terrified to bear a child of my own. I don't want to do that, but nobody seems to understand that. I'd rather have a surrogate do it in vitro way so it has my genes and the fathers genes but I don't have to bear it. I'm told I'm being selfish in this way but can you blame me? I'm a very small person at 18. My best friend almost died giving birth to her child and she was bigger than I was. I can't bring myself to go through that, no matter what age I am. I highly doubt I'll ever change my mind about it as well. I'm 18, not just some 13 year old just randomly saying I don't want kids. I could technically have a kid right now if I wanted to, but I don't. I mean I don't even think sex is important so why would I think having a kid is important in a relationship? I want to have kids one day. I really do. I just don't want to bear them myself with my terrible anxiety and I've seen the effects of postpartum depression and that paired with the depression I already have? That's the scariest thing I could ever think of.

My mother is 8 years older then my father. So it never bothered me about the age gap between Thornclaw and Blossomfall

I love Jontron memes. I agree a lot and I love how Twigbranch was handled, having none of it from Finleap. I knew the pairing was too good to stay good, knowing Warriors. I think the usage of systemic oppression is interesting only because I know oppression can happen in the clans. Yeah we got queens, but not issues about potential queens or queens themselves. 6 years older? My parents are like 10+ years apart lol. I wish not every couple just ending up with kids. I want to see couples with themselves. I actually didn't like that many couples because of past experiences of jealousy, ranging from celebrities, to fictional characters like Link and Spyro, etc. Nowadays when I see a protagonist having a love interest, I feel fire of jealousy, even when I didn't like the character at all. It's just weird. And when a character has not interest or is asexual, I feel safe and comfortable. Not because I'm asexual, but because I'm just tired of always seeing couples from time and time again being too good. Wait, I didn't know you were autistic! I never knew that, or that detail flew over my head for a long time. I feel sad that you had to deal with that pain... I can see both sides on why one would or would not want kids. I hate when people scoff and don't take people who do not want kids seriously. It's their choice and overpopulation is imminent anyway. I like how you brought up Bluefur because I was hoping for people to talk about Bluefur in a different topic like this. There are people irl that literally think this way. I just never liked Finleap and I always felt that Finleap could use their possible kits against her. THANK YOU ABOUT THE APOLOGY THING! Yeah, people say sorry, but that's how manipulative partners trap you. Then the process repeats. Why is it so hard to know this fact? Sorry's work for trivial and small matters, not real life adult things that can easily affect you badly like abuse. Emotional manipulation, especially in a relationship, is a form of abuse. Forgiveness does not work in a snap. It can take a real long time to do so, especially for abuse victims. Most likely, they don't even forgive their abusers at all. I literally love your last part of the video essay. I admire Twigbranch's courage to have none of Finleap's bullshittery. And I admire your courage to speak up about this too. I think Barley also said that bloodlines mean nothing, but the loyalty and the bonds you have mean everything. I may have gotten that wrong, but I believe I was close to what he actually said, because it's true.

Warriors in a nutshell: *YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER DIES* the end

I honestly don't think Finleap is manipulative. Here's why: I agree 100% with your points on systemic oppression, and although I can't relate to it because I want a family life, I know plenty of people who don't, and I 101% support that decision. Some people just aren't meant to have children. I think, though, that Finleap didn't know he was being manipulative or that he was doing anything wrong. If you look through the entire series, practically any she-cat with a mate who lived a decently long life, they had kits. Finleap was just doing what the rest of the Clan did, and after Twigbranch showed him how rude he was being, he understood, he apologized, and realized that just because the rest of the Clan acts a particular way towards parenthood doesn't mean he has to share those beliefs.

Can we also talk about the unimaginable pain that is child birth. I never want to voluntarily put myself through that pain...

I can relate. I never said I don't want kids but at the same time, why do I want one right now? I always feel a ping of jealously at my step siblings. they are so happy with their families. However, I'm NOT a people person at all. I would rather be left alone than dragged out of my apartment against my will. I had one boyfriend in my entire life and I still think about him sometimes. He was a nice guy and valued my views and gave me emotional support. But I have met a guy who was just like Finleap - pushing me into a relationship when I told him no 3 times (he was hitting on all of the other girls at my work too. gross!) I finally unfriended him from Facebook so I never have to worry about it ever again. I hope. This experience alone taught me that there are guys out there who are so nice that they put aside themselves and there are those who are so desperate for a relationship, saying they are better than the former. You can blame the pushy man for making me be so hesitant when it comes to guy hitting on me. I hate it. I don't even think that I'm that pretty. If a guy wants to be my boyfriend, they better climb out of that friend zone first!

This also happens to women who even want to have children! I’ve been married for 2 years I want to have kids but my husband and I are making a choice to wait till we feel it’s right to have them we also want to be in a really good financial situation and are building up to that so in the meantime we are waiting Since the day I got married every comment is about when are you having kids, better to have them now then later, saying that I could die if I try to have them later.... seriously people??? Why do you feel so compelled to tell me when I should have MY children??? My mom though I love her so much has asked nearly every time I see her (not entirely every time but often) when am I giving her grand babies?? I love you mom... but that’s up to me when I want to have my children... Being pressured, even though I love kids and want them, actually makes me feel more and more uncomfortable having them

I’m a bit late to comment as I don’t normally comment on videos like this, but holy crap this one hit me hard. This is by far my favourite video you’ve ever done and just... there are no words, I love everything said here. I’m asexual and have no desire for a relationship or, obviously, kids. In addition I struggle with anxiety and depression, and as well as not wanting my potential kids to share that struggle, it would be detrimental to my own mental health. I’d always be panicking at the smallest things, and plus being around kids is not easy for me, especially when they’re loud. Not wanting kids is such a simple concept it surprises me how many people just refuse to accept it. I don’t understand why people are so bothered by the idea of someone who doesn’t want kids. The amount of pressure and guilt tripping I’ve gotten from people who need to mind their own business can be truly frustrating, and a little bit sad. Seeing this video really cheered me up. It was like a truly satisfying moment of victory to hear someone else saying everything I feel about this topic. I actually love that you went way off-topic from Warriors, because you tackled this topic at its roots and really gave a thorough analysis of everything. So thank you again, this video was thoroughly enjoyable.

Look, I'm a woman who tries to make comics in my stories, I leave the romance as normal as possible even my female protagonist having a heterosexual romantic interest doesn’t mean it’s for pressure or for things they put in my mind it’s just because I wrote that way I feel that some series feel the need to get everyone married and have children, I hope I never feel something like this and that I make natural couples

i absolutely HATE it when someone says they dont want to marry or have children then someone is like 'oh, you'll change your mind one day' like, no, they dont want to and thats okay. you dont know how they feel, cause you are not them