When a couple shares the joyous news that they’re expecting a child, they commonly say they’ll be “starting a family.”
But according to a columnist at Washingtonian, we should avoid the phrase “start a family” because it devalues couples who don’t have children.
Loathsome phrase of the day: "start a family." (If there's two of you, you already are a family.) #loathsomewords
— Bill O'Sullivan (@billmatto) February 20, 2016
In his “Loathsome Phrase of the Day” column, Bill O’Sullivan wrote Thursday that the phrase has “implications” that people probably don’t realize.
O’Sullivan writes:
What this euphemism means is get pregnant—or try to get pregnant, or have a baby, or adopt. So say that. Start a family devalues any couple who doesn’t happen to have kids, for whatever reason. It even sells single people short, who may not have children but do have “chosen” families of friends—not to mention families of origin (the ready-made kind, no assembly required).
What’s your take?
H/T FoxNewsInsider