Then as to the females it would you think with humble submission be a loss to the public because they soon would become breeders themselves and besides it is not improbable that some scrupulous people?

Answer 1

This is a quote from A Modest Proposal: For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public. This was written by Jonathan Swift in 1729.

Before reading his text, even in part, it should be understood that Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an author and satirist. Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule. Swift is famous for Gulliver's Travels (1726) and A Modest Proposal (1729). In A Modest Proposal, he suggests that the Irish eat their own children. It is a drastic piece. The website states: "He devoted much of his writing to the struggle for Ireland against the English hegemony."

The full paragraph quote is as follows:

"A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased in discoursing on this matter to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well supplied by the bodies of young lads and maidens, not exceeding fourteen years of age nor under twelve; so great a number of both sexes in every country being now ready to starve for want of work and service; and these to be disposed of by their parents, if alive, or otherwise by their nearest relations. But with due deference to so excellent a friend and so deserving a patriot, I cannot be altogether in his sentiments; for as to the males, my American acquaintance assured me, from frequent experience, that their flesh was generally tough and lean, like that of our schoolboys by continual exercise, and their taste disagreeable; and to fatten them would not answer the charge. Then as to the females, it would, I think, with humble submission be a loss to the public, because they soon would become breeders themselves; and besides, it is not improbable that some scrupulous people might be apt to censure such a practice (although indeed very unjustly), as a little bordering upon cruelty; which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest objection against any project, however so well intended."

Again, this was intended as satire, not fact nor as a statement of what anyone should do in real life.

Answer 2

It is important to acknowledge and value the contributions of females in society beyond reproduction. Limiting their potential to their role as breeders overlooks their capabilities and stifles their ability to make meaningful impacts in various fields. Additionally, prioritizing their reproductive capacity devalues their autonomy and individual agency.