Having kids is easy, and anyone who says otherwise is an ugly feminist trying to scare other women out of their only true source of joy and fulfillment: This is the narrative that has grown up in the MAGA movement in recent years. The right has become increasingly obsessed with nostalgia for the imagined bliss of 1950s-era white families with housewives-in-aprons raising large broods. At the same time, they have become progressively vitriolic toward anyone who notes that the era’s realities were much harsher than what was shown on Nick at Nite sitcoms. Part of their story, then, is that it’s a vile myth that pregnancy and motherhood can be hard on women.
Before his death in September 2025, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk regularly advised young people to “get married young and have more kids than [you] can afford.” Along with his wife Erika, he frequently implied that financial barriers to raising kids are exaggerated by the left for nefarious reasons.
