A Generation of Women Who Do Not Want Marriage or Babies! Collapse Will Come from this Factor Alone! By Mrs. Abigail Knight (Florida)
The article from American Thinker, "America's New Generation of Young Women Who Don't Want Marriage or Babies," by Andrea Widburg, draws heavily on a Wall Street Journal piece titled "American Women Are Giving Up on Marriage," authored by Rachel Wolfe and published on March 22, 2025.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/relationships/american-women-are-giving-up-on-marriage-54840971
Together, these articles highlight a growing trend among young American and Western women who are increasingly opting out of traditional milestones like marriage and motherhood, a shift that both sources frame as a significant cultural and demographic phenomenon.
The Wall Street Journal article opens with the story of Maeve, a 29-year-old Boston woman who, after a series of lacklustre relationships and disappointing dates, has chosen to embrace singlehood and childlessness. Educated and financially independent, Maeve represents a broader cohort: women who are attending college in greater numbers than men, buying homes solo, and prioritising friendships and careers over romantic partnerships. The piece cites data from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), noting that over half of single women surveyed in 2024 believe they are happier than their married peers. It also references Census Bureau figures showing that in 2022, only 49 percent of U.S. women aged 15-44 were married, down from 65 percent in 1970, while the fertility rate has dropped to a record low of 1.62 births per woman—well below the replacement rate of 2.1. Experts like Daniel Cox from AEI argue that this reflects a systemic shift, driven by women's economic independence and a dating culture shaped by apps, where perfection is expected, and imperfections lead to quick rejection.
Widburg's American Thinker commentary builds on this, adding a conservative critique. She attributes the trend to additional factors: feminism's push for female autonomy, which she claims has devalued traditional roles; economic pressures like inflation and housing costs under Biden's administration; and a cultural narrative that portrays men as toxic or unnecessary. She laments the loss of the nuclear family as a societal bedrock, suggesting that women's rejection of marriage and motherhood is both a personal tragedy and a national crisis, threatening America's future stability.
Both articles agree on the data—more women are single, fewer are marrying, and birth rates are plummeting—but diverge in tone. The WSJ takes a neutral, observational stance, exploring why women like Maeve find fulfillment outside traditional paths, while American Thinker sounds an alarm, framing it as a symptom of moral and structural decay.
The growing reluctance of young Western women to marry and have children, as detailed in these articles, is not just a lifestyle shift—it's a seismic rupture that threatens the collapse of Western civilisation. This isn't hyperbole; it's a logical extrapolation from historical patterns, demographic realities, and the cultural underpinnings that have sustained the West for centuries. If this trend persists, we're staring down a future of demographic decline, economic stagnation, and cultural disintegration, all of which erode the foundations of a civilisation that has thrived on continuity, family, and shared values.
First, consider the demographic time bomb. Western civilisation—built on the labour, innovation, and social cohesion of White people—requires a stable population to survive. The WSJ notes a U.S. fertility rate of 1.62, far below the 2.1 needed to replace each generation. Europe fares worse, with rates like Italy's 1.24 and Spain's 1.19 signalling a shrinking populace. Without children, who will sustain the workforce, fund pensions, or defend the nation in 50 years? Japan's aging crisis—where 29 percent of the population is over 65, and rural towns are ghosting out—offers a preview: economic contraction, overburdened healthcare, and a hollowed-out society. If American women, and by extension Western women, opt out of motherhood en masse, we're not just losing babies; we're losing the future. A civilisation that can't reproduce itself biologically is on borrowed time.
Second, the rejection of marriage undermines the social fabric that has historically stabilised the West. The nuclear family—man, woman, children—has been the unit of economic production, moral education, and community strength since the Middle Ages. The American Thinker rightly flags how feminism and cultural shifts have recast this as oppressive or optional, but the data backs the cost: AEI's survey shows single women happier now, yet studiesreveal single men fare worse—higher depression, addiction, loneliness—suggesting a gendered fallout. If men disengage as women withdraw, we risk a society of isolated individuals, not cooperative units. Rome's decline wasn't just military; it was social—falling birth rates and fractured families left it vulnerable. We're repeating that script, trading cohesion for individualism.
Third, economic collapse looms. The WSJ highlights women's gains—more college degrees, homeownership—but this independence comes at a collective price. A shrinking population means fewer workers, less tax revenue, and a strained welfare state, already creaking under debt (U.S. national debt hit $35 trillion in 2024). Housing costs and inflation, as Widburg notes, deter family formation, but so does a culture prioritising career over kids. Who pays for the elderly when there's no next generation? Europe's pension crises—Greece's near-default in 2015, Italy's looming shortfall—show what happens when births dry up. Western economies, built on growth, can't sustain a childless trajectory.
Finally, this trend threatens cultural identity. Western civilisation isn't just laws or GDP—it's a story of faith, family, and resilience, rooted in Judeo-Christian values. The American Thinker hints at this: as women reject marriage and motherhood, we lose the institutions that transmit those values. If Christians, as a remnant, rebuild, they're fighting an uphill battle against a secular tide that sees kids as burdens or climate sins (e.g., BirthStrike rhetoric). Without a shared ethos, passed through families, the West becomes a rootless shell—easy prey for rival cultures with higher birth rates, like Islamic communities in Europe, where fertility often exceeds 3.0.
Critics might say this is alarmist—women's autonomy isn't collapse, just evolution. But evolution without reproduction is extinction. Others argue technology or immigration can fill gaps. Yet AI can't replace human spirit, and mass migration (e.g., Australia's 1.8 million influx) risks cultural dilution, not renewal, when integration falters. The WSJ's Maeve may be content, but her choice, multiplied, unravels the West's fabric. If Big Pharma can fail us, why trust a culture betting on childlessness? This isn't just a trend—it's the first domino in a civilisational fall. We must rethink, or we'll fade.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/relationships/american-women-are-giving-up-on-marriage-54840971
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