The Ticking Biological Clock --Ailene Huang

It seems to me that in every culture there is a saying that condemns the unmarried woman. In China it's "the left-over woman", in the US it's "the old maid", and in the Persian culture there is a saying that those over 25 are a dried up grape (or prune...I can't remember), so no matter where women go, there seems to be a fear that if one is over 25 and unmarried, the female world will come to a standstill, or that the population of the world will drop because females aren't baring children. I noticed that soon after I entered into my twenties, the good ol' question of "when are you getting married?" started surfacing more and more often. What is it about the 20's that invites these questions in? And why does society formulate the idea that men only better with age while women just disintegrate with age (at least physically)? I think, looking back, that it is the first time in history that women are now getting to choose their role, since previously it has all been about being the domesticator. With new territory comes a lot of outrage simply because it's unfamiliar and no one knows quite how to deal. Choosing between a family life and a career (that often leads to the notion of "old maid") shouldn't be a choice. I mean, would you like an education and a job, or would you like to spend time with your loved ones and children? Both are important! Society needs to start seeing that marginalizing gender roles leads to scrutinizing the purpose of those roles, making it impossible to "choose" the right path.