To think that science teacher saying that a female's 'prime' is at 18 to a year 11 class is out of order?

[littlemissbumshine]

DD came back today and her friend came over, they both came back talking about how shocked they were at their (30s male) science teacher.

Apparently they got onto the topic of puberty and the boys were chiming in with the usual stuff about boobs and ageing and the teacher said that it's a scientific fact that a female's prime is at 18 years of age...

I think it's disgusting. Especially when the class already has had problems with sexism (supposedly being tackled) after year 10 joiners have tipped the small class from being 9 boys and 6 girls, to 16 boys and 4 girls.

[Melroses]

Reproductively, early 20s for both mother and baby.

Sexual prime - I heard 37 , but 40s is better IME

Prime for being leched over - yes 18 - used to be 17 in the Sun and Mirror until they changed the law to make it 18. (Samantha Fox was only 16)

[Dinoctoblock]

dino I’m a science teacher. It’s definitely not on the gcse spec for AQA exam board.
It’s a shitty thing to say to a year 11 class without further discussion. If I heard a story like this about a colleague I’d be asking that colleague exactly what was said

Thank you Cuckoo that’s somewhat of a relief!

@littlemissbumshine I would be going with the above knowledge to a member of the SLT and demanding some explanation for the comment, as long as you are absolutely sure that your daughter is telling the truth. If he really did say this it is completely inappropriate and misogynistic.

[maddiemookins16mum]

I usually only believe roughly 50% of what my teen daughter and her friends say has happened in class.

[oncemorewithfeeling99]

its Inconvenient but women are biologically better to have children at a younger age. Other factors obviously come into play for modern women beyond biology....(although I sometimes think my friend who had babies at 18 and 20, took 4 years out, did her degree and then started her career at 27 was onto something. At 35 now, when everyone else seems floundering she is in her stride with children who are of a more independent age).

[PlanDeRaccordement]

It is the prime age. After 18 our cells are dying faster than we can replace them. So you literally start ageing after 18. So he is scientifically correct.

[Keha]

I think it's quite likely a load of crap and a pretty lazy thing to say. A lot of people are commenting that fertility peaks at 18, but I cannot find anything that says that scientifically - it seems to be early 20s or from 18 into the mid 20s - so why focus on 18? People are also commenting that if 18 is a peak fertile age then logically it is when people are at peak attractiveness - personally I think it is a little more complicated than that. Secondly, what does 'prime' mean. It think it is quite a loaded word. If he was trying to say women are more fertile from their late teens into early 20's, the word prime isn't needed at all. If he is discussing the best age to reproduce biologically then there is evidence that there are increased risks for teenagers (e.g. preterm labour, low birth weight) and again the 'best time' is early 20s. And that fails to take into account the myriad of social, financial and cultural reasons why certain ages might be considered better. How old is your daughter, would she be up for asking him in the next lesson about what research he is quoting and where his facts come from? Science and 'facts' have been repeatedly used through history to back up sexism, racism etc - you can't just seperate them from the social and cultural because it's "just science and just a fact".

[Hepsibar]

I feel he has not been particularly sensitive in his delivery ... given the background and gender imbalance in the class. Surely he could have discussed this was part only part of a person and also men's prime.

Surely some sort of awareness of gender issues and maturity emotionally and educationally is not too much to expect.

[CuckooCuckooClock]

you can't just seperate them from the social and cultural because it's "just science and just a fact".

Absolutely agree with this. Science has a context. And decent teacher knows this and adapts their teaching accordingly.

[Methyl]

Sit down with your teenager and watch Hannah Gadsby's Nanette on Netflix. She discusses this concept of women being 'in their prime' at 19 and blows it all apart. Breathtaking.

[crystal1717]

Baloney. I was hideous at 18. Quite beautiful 25 to 38. V old now.

[PlanDeRaccordement]

It’s not necessarily referring to fertility. We are not walking wombs.

It’s most probably referring to peak physical condition before ageing begins. Also it could refer to our minds peak for information processing speed which is also at 18.

We’re biologically at our peak/prime at 18 and it’s just a long trend down to death from there. And he was a biology teacher,.....so he’s going to be talking from a biological standpoint.

[Fourtights]

I thought that was wrong though, scientifically speaking when it comes to fertility. Something to do with your cervix not being fully formed yet or along those lines?

[Koalaing]

YANBU. Why are so many people defending this dodgy teacher by pretending he's scientifically right, whatever that means. 18 isn't the best biological age for a woman to have a baby.

Sexist bullshit and I'd be furious.

[Koalaing]

We’re biologically at our peak/prime at 18

Based on what evidence?

[Durgasarrow]

He's spouting bullshit.

[Kablam]

Even if he meant reproductively, women are not in their prime at 18...
He sounds like a creep and should DEFINITELY be reported to the school.

[Tinkerbell456]

Well, in terms of peak fertility, he’s correct. Eighteen to twenty five are the years of peak fertility for women. Of course, women have a lot more options before them during these years, but biologically, this is true. This doesn’t mean that you aren’ t fertile after the day you turn twenty five of course, just that it begins to decline slowly.

[Tinkerbell456]

Sorry for the double post. I do agree that the whole class discussion sounds a bit inappropriate.Creepy even.

[TalaxuArmiuna]

yanbu like this can only come from a standpoint of believing that women are only valuable for reproductive services and decorative beauty. from a pov of physical attractiveness, it is equally true that males are at their peak of smooth-skinned lusciousness in late teens or early 20s. however we overlay onto that a patriarchal sexist attitude that older males exude an additional attractiveness due to their expected additional power and protective ability, whereas older women are likely to be more disregarded due to their reduced power and status under patriarchy. in a matriarchy or an egalitarian society this overlay wouldn't be there. so it's not a scientific fact, it's propagation of continuing the patriarchy.

show DD hannah gadsby's "Nannette" on Netflix - especially the bit where she talks about being in one's prime. a woman is in her prime when she has confidence, experience, knowledge and wisdom and yes she might not look fresh and pretty and unwrinkled when she gets those attributes but only a sexist git would value the physical more than these attributes.

[trixiebelden77]

What did he have to say about men’s fertility?

It’s very very common for people who spout these ‘factual’ statements about women’s fertility to say nothing whatsoever about the poor quality of an ageing man’s sperm and the increased risk that his partner, no matter how young, will have miscarriages or that their foetus will have abnormalities..

Weird, isn’t it. Almost as if it was never really about science or facts.

[Piglet89]

@catanddogmake6 brilliant!!!

[RattyTerror]

When I was at school I was told this too. They just mean biologically a woman is at her prime at 18. I’m 26 so I was told around 10 years ago by my biology teacher (in a matter of fact way not a creepy way). When we were cavemen it probably was very true but we obviously don’t apply these ‘rules’ in modern day society. We were told that was why accidental pregnancies were more common in younger women than older women. It’s just basic biology.

[AbsentmindedWoman]

It’s just basic biology.

Except it isn't.

Pregnancies in those under 19 are higher risk. Maternal death in childbirth is also a huge risk to the survival of the infant. So 18 is hardly the prime reproductive age.

[hibeat]

I was taught 23 was the ideal age.

[hibeat]

then sexual prime 40.