To think that “Irish twins” is an offensive term?

[CroissantwithCheese]

I read a thread on an American pregnancy forum about the term “Irish twins”. The OP posted some gushing statement hoping she was pregnant and that it would mean she had Irish twins. A commenter said it was offensive and I deeply agree. It was an idiom apparently created in the US in the 1800s, referring to the large families of Irish immigrants. It was derogatory, stereotyping the Irish for not having any sort of family planning and not using contraception. But this was hardly their fault as the church had banned contraception. The term has now become some sort of cutesy way of referring to two children born within a year of each other, and seems to be completely accepted. How can that be accepted and not considered offensive?!

And do you think that was a happy thing that Irish people (particularly Irish women) enjoyed being reminded of by having this phrase coined about them?

I dint understand this comment. I am Irish. I come from a huge family. All the women in my family wanted big families. They are very happy they have them.

I heard this expression when I moved to the US and was rather taken aback by it. I wouldn't choose to use it but I'm not Irish so I wouldn't presume to say how offensive it was.

so what does the expression mean?

All the women in my family wanted big families. They are very happy they have them.

Good for them, they had a choice and were able to have as many children as they wanted.

You have Irish siblings

Well if you want to get technical and ensure no is offended. It would be siblings. Do you usually point out the nationality of siblings.

You could stretch it too, 'siblings and they are from Ireland'if it was relevant to the converstation.

Why point out they are Irish at all?

Please note I dont actually think this. Just seems weird to use the term 'Irish siblings'.

I’ve got two sisters who are Irish twins - they love the phrase and wear it like a badge of honour. I must admit, they used to go on about it all the time and it was only about five years ago that I finally twigged what the phrase actually meant. I’m 52.

It means two babies born within a year of each other. My gran had five under five at one point so she had several sets of Irish twins.

Just as weird (or weirder actually) to call them twins when they aren’t twins, surely? regardless of nationality.

ilovemaxi goady much.

My brother and SIL have Irish twins. They struggled with fertility issues for the first, so my brother now sees it as a sign of his virility and loves the term. In fact it was the first I heard of it when he proudly announced it to me! We're Irish.

I went to a RC senior school (not RC, myself) and we had two sisters in our year - who were referred to, by all and sundry, as "Irish twins" (until senior school, I'd never heard the term before). They weren't bothered in the slightest, as far as I know, and lapped up the attention that being sisters in the same year got them. They still do, 30 odd years later. However, they were RC and came from a very large family, anyway, so I don't know if that makes a difference?

Years later, a CofE friend got pregnant 8 weeks after giving birth... and went around spouting about how she was going to have "Irish twins". Personally? I - and a lot of others who were RC and mutual friends - found that more offensive. She hadn't attended the same senior school, but had obviously decided she could get away with being offensive. The rest of us just thought she was an idiot for not being responsible enough to use contraception (she believed that if she was breastfeeding... she couldn't get pregnant!), and quietly dropped her a few years later. Her daughters are in the same school as my youngest, and have wandered around pretending that they're actually twins (at 13 and 12), despite being in different academic years to one another, so obviously their mother's influence has passed itself on. What's sad about it is the fact that the girls have been bullied because they insist that they're really twins, when it's clear that they're not

Good for them, they had achoiceand were able to have as many children as theywanted.

And what? There was no contraception in the 1800s. Larger families were the norm all over. Women, of all nationalities, were generally there to have kids. The problem there was sexism. Not exclusive to Irish people.

I am not offended by people reminding me that women used to be expected to simply keep house and pop babies out.

Forgot to say, yes we’re an Irish family (six kids -God, we’re a living breathing bunch of stereotypes).

@ZippyBungleandGeorge
I've never heard this before and would have assumed they were talking about Jedward

Never heard of this phrase before either

Wait a mo! Let me catch up!

It's an old saying about large, presumably poor and/or immigrant families. Probably most said about Irish, Mexican [insert other predominantly Catholic nation here] more recently as they tend to have larger families due to contraception beliefs.

Oh! OK! So if in an area/country where large families were predominantly Irish they would be Irish Twins; Italians predominantly... Italian Twins etc etc etc

Meh! Not sure it is wholly offensive, it is based on factual observation. Oh no! My apologies, noticing is the offense isn't it.

Pshaw!

It is a fact that Irish Catholic families were often very large and had many children. That's where the phrase comes from. It's a bit precious to be offended by something that really is just an expression to mean two babies born within a year where the origin is based in fact.

Even if you are going to get on a high horse about it, there actually isn't anything offensive about having a large family in and of itself. Plenty of families wanted this by choice. It's not like being stereotyped as being a drunkard or a thief.

Just as weird (or weirder actually) to call them twins when they aren’t twins, surely?

Yes. But when correcting your decided their nationality should be included. Why?

If I was offended by the term Irish twins, I am sure I wouldnt want to be introduced or labelled as Irish siblings, along with my brother, either.

It's just siblings. Seems you arent quite a PC as you thought.

There was no contraception in the 1800s. Larger families were the norm all over. Women, of all nationalities, were generally there to have kids. The problem there was sexism. Not exclusive to Irish people.

Ex-fucking-actly! So why why is the phrase Irish twins? When families of all nationalities would have had babies with small age gaps? Because it nicely fitted in with the stereotype being peddled of Irish people having no control of themselves and breeding like rabbits. It is offensive.

Just as weird (or weirder actually) to call them twins when they aren’t twins, surely? I thought it was a reference to the fact that the woman had hardly given birth before she was pregnant again - so one of those 18 month long pregnancies.

Yes, of course it is offensive. And for those who seem not to get it, part of the 'joke' is that thick, feckless Irish people think they are twins. As well as obviously being ignorant and priest-ridden enough to fuck like rabbits in a state where contraception was illegal.

And having heard an Irish person use the expression does not make it OK, any more than listening to hip hop makes it OK to greet your black colleagues across the office with a glad cry of 'Whassup, n*ggaz?'

My DH is a Welsh twin 😁 He was born in January and his brother was born in December, both in the same year.

Contraception wasn’t illegal. It didn’t exist. Ffs.

I'm Irish, my sisters were 'Irish twins' they even joke about it.

No-one I know has found it offensive, us Irish don't offend easily.

But when correcting your decided their nationality should be included. Why?

Because that poster I was addressing included it.

My Irish builder (in his 50s) told me that his brother was less than a year apart from him in age, so they are Irish twins. I said that I'd heard that some people thought it was offensive and he was just bemused.