taking a short break from my normal steady diet of fiction, i’m currently reading a book by dan savage called the kid. it’s about two men who want to adopt a child together, it’s a true story, and it’s terrific. i’ve always been of the mind that having children was either something that didn’t interest me (why should i when i can spend all that money on myself instead? expensive stereos, fast cars, swanky vacations, designer blue jeans…), or would be something that i would “come to realize” as i grew much older and more settled. nothing to think about right now, not a goal i have for myself, but something i may want to do some day. surprisingly, this book of all books is sort of making me think about all that stuff now, which is scary, sure; but this guy really gets at the heart of things, and is very funny too. i’m really enjoying it. a lot. i think i may skip my afternoon class today to read it because anthropology isn’t quite as relevant or entertaining to me.

here’s an interesting excerpt i just read, which doesn’t show how fun to read or how clever savage is, but does sort of make you think or make a little political statement. i don’t want to discuss it as much as share it, because i pretty much agree with what he says. anyway, check it out if you like:

“fertile couples have complete autonomy. they can have as many pentagrams and dead chickens as they like in their living rooms, with no agency standing in judgment. they can prove themselves unfit after having a baby, but no one tells fertile straight people they can’t have babies in the first place. twelve-year-olds have babies, insane people have babies, drug addicts have babies, dirt-poor people have babies, drunks have babies, people who’ve had their babies taken away from them have more babies. none of these people would get through an adoption agency’s home study. only adoptive parents have to prove themselves fit.”