I just watched a fascinating documentary and actually quite upsetting documentary.
It was such a taboo documentary which touched on the idea of “designer babies”, creating the perfect child, not in the most extreme of cases but still choosing the perfect sex of the baby. Featuring four women from all different backgrounds all wanting what would complete their life; a baby girl. The documentary, in my opinion, is beautifully made, some lovely work on framing shots, some artist work with full focuses and a great mix between interviews and cut-aways. The documentary is strongly expositional, there is the use of a voiceover but it is pretty minimal. The audience is strongly being fed that fact that most women crave a baby girl to “complete” them and that it is right for the women to go to every attempt to get that daughter. What fascinates me the most is that all but one woman fail to get that dream daughter? One woman has shelled out over 30 thousand pound in abroad treatment trying to get their dream daughter, injecting herself with medicines and special chemicals every day for several months; all to fail. When she fails she is possibly the most bitter of the four, crying and pushing her husband away, telling of how awful her life is in front of her other children. One woman has spent no money, but has tried lots of old wives tails to try and naturally induce a baby girl, unfortunately with her fifth baby it fails and I get help but feel distraught for the woman. She is so upset and she is the woman I connected with the most. She didn’t come across as one of the bitter old bitches who wanted the world! The last lady who doesn’t get her baby girl is a lady who has had a whopping EIGHT boys and wants to try for lucky baby number nine, but unfortunately time is against her and her doctor’s suspect she’s started the menopause. She is honestly such a humble woman who is so grateful for what she already has though; part of me just wished somehow she’d get her baby girl. The last lady tells such an emotional story; again going abroad to try this special treatment that lets you choose the sex of the baby (this process is illegal in the UK). She lives in this huge mansion, with four male children and a husband she REFUSES to marry until she gets a baby girl. I really liked the woman until that was revealed.
I personally completely see where these women are coming from, I always sit and imagine my perfect family, and if I’m lucky enough to have children I could not see myself without a baby girl, in fact I’d love loads of them, and for my home to be overrun by females! But to what extent would I go to get daughters? I can’t honestly imagine I’d cry at a scan and abuse my husband for not having the ability to have a girl. There are thousands of women who can’t have children at all and it just seems so selfish. My only hope is that their children never grow to watch this documentary, as I can’t imagine a better way to feel completely unwanted.
I think the thing that upset me the most is that there were no parents, mum or dad, in this documentary, longing for a boy and I know people with that dying emotion exist!
