[dilap]

"We are now trapped in a world of kids. Old kids. The disappearance of patrimonial transmission means that an old guy today is just a useless ruin. The thing we value most of all is youth, which means that life automatically becomes depressing, because life consists, on the whole, of getting old."

--Houellebecq

[renjimen]

What about the other half of the population? It's an interesting quote but it doesn't explain why women also experience midlife crises.

Could it simply be that a focus on career and modern nuclear families provide less satisfaction for the middle aged? That might explain the diminished patriarchal/matriarchal aspects for men and women.

[konjin]

Having listened to a few women going through theirs: kids.

Either not having them, the kids not meeting their mothers expectations or the kids never wanting to see their mothers again once they grow up.

[renjimen]

What do we have to blame for that, do you think? Encouraging independence? Expectation inflation from social media?

[Bakary]

The general mindset of having kids as a project or to resolve some emotional turmoil.

Unlike a dog, the child usually behaves in unanticipated ways...