2024 is Beyoncé’s year, and it turns out women are still having the “discussion.” As a woman with professional ambitions, how should we cultivate our careers? and Raising children? It’s a frustrating topic, largely because I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone worry about it. But also because, whether you like it or not, it’s a practical matter that those of us who want both a career and children have to consider. It turns out that even movie stars like Florence Pugh had a hard time with the Q&A.
A recent interview with Bustle about her upcoming film we live in timePugh reflected on her character Almut, an enterprising chef who is happily paired with the sentimental Tobias, played by Andrew Garfield. Early in their relationship, Almut was adamantly opposed to having children. Ultimately (minor spoilers here, but not true if you’ve seen the tear-jerking trailer), the two choose to have a baby, but it’s a decision made in the context of the real world of difficult decisions faced by women, especially women. Out of options as well.
In an interview with Bustle, Pugh said she was excited to bring this reality to the forefront in the film:
“I remember a conversation my mom and my sister had when I was 18 and my sister was 28. It’s a conversation all women have: What are they doing, how are they doing it, how are you going to achieve this? If you’re motivated and you want to own the world that you’re working in and you want to feel like you’ve made it, the kids talk and when you’re going to do it, if it’s what you want it’s always in the back of your mind .So I’m very grateful to be able to play a character like that because I am that story and my friend is that story.
Pugh, 28, has no children but said she hopes to have a big family in the future.
“I’ve wanted children myself since I was a kid,” she told me people earlier this year. “I love the idea of a big family. I come from a big family. I love kids. I love hanging out with kids. If there’s a dinner party, I’ll go straight to the kids and talk to them.
Of course, there are many ambitious and successful women in the world who have managed to have families and noble careers. But it doesn’t happen without careful, often excruciating planning, worry, trade-offs, and struggle, at least some of the time. This can be frustrating, but it’s also refreshing to see this issue discussed more openly. Perhaps this is the first of many advances.
