to think, well said, Maxine Peake.

[MrHughJass]

She's talked about how having children is selfish.
Yes, yes and yes, I say.

I'm fed up with people equating not having children with selfishness. What's more self centred than the urge to populate a crowded world with more people with your genes, that you happen to want to have around?

If it's all about forfeiting your own (direct) needs for those of others, then don't make a person to fulfil that role. There are plenty of people and animals already in existence who could do with your help.

You only have to look at the ferocity with which parents will compete (outdo each other's offspring) to see that breeding is far from the selfless enterprise it's sometimes made out to be.
Focusing on the needs of your own children (often at the expense of others, by definition, when there are limited resources of one kind or another) is selecting children who matter to you and promoting their welfare. The only difference between your child and the child over the road is that they are related to you. That's why you're so "selfless" about them.

So, have kids if you want them, by all means. It's a human urge - go for it. But please don't think it makes you into some wonderful being who has selflessly forfeited their rights to expensive haircuts and meals out. It's just a different form of selfishness.

Nice one, Maxine.

That is all.

Here is the Red interview with Maxine. Theyve now put it up on their site.

www.redonline.co.uk/red-women/interviews/maxine-peake-interview

Her The Village co star John Simm has said in the past he is wary of doing interviews due to journalists taking things out of context.

I can imagine the next phone conversation Maxine is going to have with him.

Probably something along the lines of "i see what you mean"

She does have a point. Even though I am not childless myself, I can see that. Of course in many parts of the world there is no 'choice'. People (especially females) are married off young, and there's no access to contraception. Same as it was in the West about a 100 years ago.

She sounds awesome from that interview.

If everybody suddenly lost the desire to want and have kids, our species would be fucked in a couple of generations.

But I will be dead by then so I don't mind. I suppose that makes me selfish

so you have children but you don't behave in the way you spout in the OP?

Oh we're all selfish fuckers, it's human nature. In a true fight for survival you'd see just how selfish humans are. We've essentially destroyed this planet. Need I go on?

Most people who have kids don't do it to 'continue their gene pool' or create an extension of themselves. I don't look at DC thinking "oh thank god when I die there'll be generations of little me's still around." Come off it. Some people want kids, some people don't. I don't care either way and think people who do care clearly have some issue with the decision they made.

I don't care about her views on people having children. She is a wonderful, talented actress and I always look out for anything where she has a part.

She is right - but then I don't really gave a problem with being selfish sometimes. In fact, most things we do are selfish in some way. When I supported dp quitting smoking it was selfish cos this way he is less likely to die young and I will get to spend more of my life with him.

I have come across quite a lot of people who do like to play the martyr when it comes to parenting, tho I reckon they'd have found another way to be a martyr if they'd never had kids.

so you have children but you don't behave in the way you spout in the OP?

If you mean do I favour my kids over other people's, and indirectly do other people down in the process, then yes. Yes I do.
What I don't do is consider it less selfish to have kids than to not have kids. That was my only point.

Also, sinisterbuggy, I'm not advocating any of the "impractical bollox". I'm using it to illustrate the selfishness of reproduction.

I think you are taking her comments out of context. It is known that Maxine was actually herself very keen to have children, and tried for years and sadly gave up after several cycles of IVF.

OP, you made some valid points, IMO. Personally, I think the whole human race is inately selfish in many ways, but I don't find it helpful to label sections of society selfish/unselfish, purely based on whether they've had children or not.

Maxine Peake is a great actress and I enjoy watching her in The Village. If she'd had children maybe she wouldn't have accepted the role, so I'm quite pleased that she hasn't got children (v.selfish of me, I know).