Intersections with disability and religion Flashcards
What general fertility trend characterizes high- and middle-income nations today?
Fertility in high- and middle-income nations is routinely below the replacement rate.
How did China’s fertility evolve over the 20th century?
- Birth rates plummeted during the Great Famine, rose as China grew wealthier, then dropped sharply under the one-child policy
- today deaths exceed births, threatening population replacement.
What social pressures deter young Chinese from having children?
- China’s intense education system
- high urban living costs
- the expectation that men own a home/car before dating
- poor economic prospects
- Women in cities have new levels of financial independence and education, marriage is less of an economic necessity for them
How do fertility behaviors differ between India, South Korea, and Japan?
India: Women marry and bear two children young, then stop (often via sterilization).
South Korea: World’s lowest rate (0.75 children/woman) due to gender inequality, job market barriers, childcare/housing costs, long work hours, and declining marriage.
Japan: 2023 rate of 1.2; more deaths (1.62 M) than births (720 K) in 2024; over 40% of municipalities at risk; ~9 million vacant homes.
What are the four principal reasons fertility falls below replacement in industrialized countries?
- Balancing work & family: poor paid leave, high childcare costs (though EU/Quebec policies can boost second births).
- Economic insecurity: insecure jobs; high housing prices delay family formation.
- Gender inequality: stigma on working mothers; unequal domestic burdens
- Rising maternal age: fewer childbearing years + harder conception → births not just delayed but foregone.
How does media coverage influence fertility?
Increasingly negative economic news correlates with lower fertility, as pessimism about the future dampens childbearing.
What role does grandparent childcare play in fertility?
n the EU and China, when grandparents provide extensive childcare, second birth rates rise, demonstrating the impact of extended-family support.
How do marriage rates affect fertility in East Asia?
Plummeting marriage rates in East Asia are strongly linked to sharply reduced fertility.
Why did fertility in Nordic countries decline despite strong social supports?
greater emphasis on individual self-fulfillment and changing family/marriage attitudes have suppressed birth rates.
How have “screen-based lives” impacted fertility?
- Greater social media use
- fewer in-person interactions
- overprotective parenting
have increased mental-health issues, popularized childfree ideals, and reduced relationship formation, all lowering fertility.
How does difficulty of balancing work and family life affect below replacement fertility rate?
- Women who live in EU countries that have policies that support working parents have higher chances of having a second child
→ Policy changes are unlikely to make people who have no children have on child, but may encourage a second child - Quebec parental insurance plan provided much more generous income benefits to parents and increased births among women with post-secondary education, who faced higher opportunity cost of childbirth
How does economic insecurity affect replacement fertility rates?
- Self employment is associated with higher birth rates
- Job creation in majority-women sectors associated with higher fertility and job loss in majority men sectors is associated with lower fertility
- High housing prices: delayed home ownership → delayed parenthood → unlikely to have the number of children they want
What link exists between partisanship and fertility in the U.S. & EU?
- People on the political right have higher fertility
- Republican-leaning counties see fertility rise when a Republican wins
What policy designs yield the biggest fertility boost?
Interventions that match existing social norms—for example, Poland’s monthly cash transfers—generate the largest increases in births.
Why can governments do little to reverse negative population growth after it crosses a threshold?
Once fertility declines past replacement, inertia in personal preferences and economic structures makes meaningful policy reversals extremely difficult.
What broader policy areas are affected by low fertility?
- childcare,
- schools vs. elder care,
- healthcare,
- social insurance,
- tax policy—low fertility can trigger higher taxes to support fewer workers.
- environmental
What environmental challenges arise from low fertility?
- Aging societies face fiscal strains that cut back environmental protection;
- balancing human well-being with sustainability becomes harder,
- decarbonization demands technological shifts but less new labour due to demographic shift.
Why won’t migration solve population aging?
Migrants tend to have the same number of children as local people once assimilated, so immigration alone does not restore fertility.
What are the two predominant stereotypes about disabled people’s sexuality mentioned in the article? Katherine
Asexual/Inhibited: The assumption that disabled individuals lack sexual desire or capability.
Hypersexual/Perverse: The notion that disabled people are dangerously or excessively sexual.
How have historical attitudes, including eugenics, affected perceptions of disabled sexuality? Katherine
Eugenic ideologies and laws (like the “Ugly Laws” and compulsory sterilizations) portrayed disabled individuals as unfit for reproduction and reinforced negative myths, such as disability being a punishment for sin or a form of contamination.
What role did disability rights and sexual citizenship movements play in changing attitudes toward disabled sexuality? Katherine
movements, emerging in the 1960s and beyond, pushed for inclusion, independent living, and the right to sexual expression—challenging outdated stereotypes and advocating for equal access to sexual services and relationships.
What does “sexual citizenship” mean in the context of the article? Katherine
efers to the right of disabled people—and other marginalized groups—to be recognized, respected, and have equal access to sexual experiences and relationships without discrimination.
What concerns are raised regarding consent in disabled sex work? Katherine
some disabled individuals may face difficulties in giving informed consent, emphasizing the need for safeguards and guidelines, especially for those with impaired capacity to communicate consent.
How does infantilization affect disabled individuals’ sexual expression? Martino
- lead caregivers and family members to treat disabled adults like children, limiting their opportunities for privacy, romantic relationships, and independent sexual decision-making.
- dictating what sexual behaviors are “appropriate” or “ready” for the individual.
