I don't normally feel the need to respond to the shows that I see, but today was too outrageous for me not to react. The women on the show (both sides) were far too extreme. This is the 21st century, women do not need to choose between getting married and having a successful, rewarding career. It is no longer necessary for a married woman to pour all of her time into taking care of her husband and children. I am currently a student preparing for a career as a Veterinarian and I certainly have plans to get married and have children WHILE maintaining a successful career. However, I don't believe that there is anything wrong with women who choose to be single. There is no need to judge others on their life choices. What message are we sending to the next generation by saying that in order to have a successful career you must be single or that in order to be complete and happy you must be married with children? Each person has their own definition of happiness and, like with anything, women should not be told what the "right" thing to do is.

First i would like to express my dissapointment in the fact that they pitted these women against each other as if one side has all the answers.A part of being a productive human being doesn't first reside with marrying, producing children or not. It starts with being humane to one another something humanity is soarely lacking but more on par with specific points expressed i say this "selfishness" isn't synonomous with not bearing children if so Mother Theresa and many other spiritual leaders are some of the most selfish...there purpose was to increase true compassion thru out the world...how many with or without children take up that mantle sure we care for and nuture our own (sometimes not ex. octomoms,abusers in varying forms) but how many truly nurture for the sake of caring...on this planet we overpopulate, then poison with our gas guzzling cars, destroy natural habitat and replace it with non sustainable housing, live off crops that are genetically mutated to produce grain which cant reproduce on its own for profit....how many of these women who feel its your duty to reproduce know whats in the food you give your children, the vaccines you inject them with or where the hell swine flu came from...before you advise population growth do all you can for a healthy sustainable planet so all who are already here and those to be born will have a planet to live on.

i don't need a husband or a baby to make me happy. my happiness starts with me. those things would add to my happiness. I don't think it's wrong to want a marriage or a child or to want to be single. For my desires, I want to be single and childless. That's MY happiness. I knew from the age of 13 that my life wasn't meant for marriage and children and that's my path. I would suggest thinking about your life path and do what is best for you.

Hello,Tyra. My mother and I really enjoyed your show today. I am a 49-year-old man, who has never married or have any children. And I can really appreciate the women on your panel that are single and career orientated. They are at the point of geting themselves together. And work on what's fulfilling to them. The single women did not say that they didn't have a life,they do. I myself prefer not dating women with children. That way I don't have to deal with the baby's daddy drama. And if I want to take my girlfriend on a secret weekend get away, we can, it would be just the two of us. And she probably wouldn't have to look for a babysitter to take care of the children for the weekend. That's if I was involved with someone. But like I tell my friends "having children is not the end all, and be all if my existence" and I think the next show you should do in that category should be. ( single men vs marry men) Between the age of (25 to 50) and I will also like to say that the woman in a red dress on a single side panel has the most beautiful legs I have ever seen!, (AS YOUR) :).. Thank you...

I think that both sides have a point. Sure parenthood and marriage is great for some people. While it would never work for others. My parents fought alot and they got married because that was what their religion and society told them. They had kids (obviously) but were they happy? NO! They got divorced because they should not have got married in the first place. Maybe I wouldn't have been born if they never married. Maybe I still would? Who knows? But the fact that as a child I grew up with parents who hated each other really affected me. So maybe that is why I am the way I am today. I am 32 years old, I work (the only reason I was able to see the show today was because I was off because I was sick.) And I am SINGLE. I've been with my boyfriend for 9 years (so the whole "single women don't know how to keep a man" argument is negated...sorry.) We have chosen not to have kids because we both agreed it would be too stressful (I'm a brittle diabetic so it may be dangerous for me to have kids) and because it will not be financially responsible. I find it interesting that no one mentioned the COST of having children. It is not a cheap endeavor. With the economy being what it is and the state of the world being what it is, how can anyone bring a life into this world lightly? It is a huge responsibility and I wish more people would think about that before talking about religion ("fruitfulness") and society's expectations. Not everyone has the maturity or the psychological capability to having kids. And some people are not marriage material either! Please, think things through before you act. Children

i would love to see a continuation on this theme. i would be very curious too see women of mature age who can not reverse their decission of not having children and see if they are regretful. also,what the music producer lady ment, i believe is, that some women choose marriage as an escape from the tough business world. i don't think she ment all married women. i do know a couple of women whose dream it is to get married just so they don't have to work. i think that that is dubious reason to have children and a husband. i love tyra and i think she chose a great and an important topic for a show.

Woman are crazy, not all but alot when it comes to having to be married. Im 41 and never been and ive had women give me sh*t because its not a something i want. I feel if im w u im w you and doing the whole ill leave or we are done if u dont wont work. Not going to force me into it. And im up front with it too. I knew at an early age also, maybe 8-10 yrs old. My parents are still married too, 45-46yrs. Societies fault.

Today’s show was more than a little disappointing… The women on the single side (especially the very bitter/angry woman sitting next to Tyra) seemed very negative and aggressive. The fact that some of the guests seemed to feel the need to emotionally bludgeon the other side into submission made them appear insecure and immature… ~ I survived 15 years of a very emotionally abusive marriage, after that I lived happily single for nearly 16 years. Now in my early fifties I am happily married and looking forward to our first anniversary in July… So I think I have lived the life on both sides of the fence long enough to make these observations: 1 - Being married is not a prerequisite to happiness… Happiness comes from within. If you can’t be happy being you and enjoy your own company getting married isn’t going to make it any better. (And if both of you come into the marriage thinking the other person is going to “make you happy” you’ll both end up miserable and blaming the other person.) 2 - Being married doesn’t guarantee that one won’t be lonely. 3 - In a successful marriage neither the man nor the woman will lose their identity. 4 - A woman doesn’t “need” a man to be happy, but it’s wonderful to have a man if you find one you want… (Remember to need him because you love him, not love him because you need him…) 5 – NEVER get married or have a child because someone else thinks you should or pressures you into it. 6 – If you don’t love, trust and respect the man enough to marry him then don’t live with him… and if your not married (in a solid loving marriage) please don’t start making babies!!! Children need

Why does there even need to be a contest between those who want marriage and kids and those who don't? Women who don't have kids because they don't want them aren't selfish, they're smart!! The last thing the world needs of for people to have kids they don't really want!!!!! That is just a recipe for resentment on both the mother's part as well as the kids'. I am a mom-to-be because that is what I want and that is what I have always dreamed of. My little sister doesn't want kids and definitely doesn't ever want to get pregnant. There is NOTHING wrong with that. The world has plenty of room for both types of women. We don't need to compete with each other when we want different things. That is just so ridiculous. When I hear a woman say that she isn't going to have kids because she has no desire to be a mom, or there are other things she'd like to do with her life, I say, "Good for her!" Not everyone is cut out to be a mom and that is OK.

To those who think that people who do not want kids are just selfish need to realize that people have kids BECAUSE THEY WANT TO. THEY WANT someone to take care of, to love them, to dress up, to do what they didn't in life, etc. Sometimes THEY WANT to regardless of poor finances, poor health or dangerous relationship issues which all can end in a child getting the short end of the stick of life. And it's the parents fault. Sound selfish? Absolutely! People who don't have kids at least are not hurting anyone. childfree, age 37

I am very upset about the show that just aired. The panel of women were chosen unfairly. On the single side, the women were intelligent, educated, and extremely successful. On the married woman's side, the women for the most part were uneducated, unintelligent people. They even chose a woman on the married side who basically said she had plastic surgery done to conform to society's norms and the have a husband and child regardless of if she was in love. This woman was idiotic to EVERYBODY, married or not! Also, every woman in the audience talked about how they hated married life, regretted married life, or felt pressured to become married. So, either way, this episode was set up for the single women to essentially win. This show did not embody the "Everywoman" and did not make an effort to show how both sides have pros and cons, which is the real issue. It was set up based upon Tyra's one-sided opinion on being single. She even stated at the beginning of the show that she was single, successful, and inferentially supported it. I believe that Trya felt the need to justify how she is in her thirties and single. Many allegations have been made that she is a lesbian in the media, and I believe she is stooping down to their level and purposely making married women look like fools to build herself up. I have always respected Tyra, but I am very disappointed in her after seeing this episode. It was not an episode to inform woman and bring up an issue that has no winner or loser, but to justify her own actions.

I AM 50 YEARS OLD WHO IS DIVORCE AND NEVER REMARRIED. I HAVE 2 CHILDREN WHO I AM GLAD THAT I HAD. I HAVE 4 GRANDCHILDREN WHO I LOVE. I HAVE A DAUGHTER WHO HAD 2 CHILDREN AND IS NOT MARRIED. SHE DOES NOT WISH TO BE MARRIED. I RESPECT HER FOR THAT. BUT WHEN I HEAR SINGLE WOMEN COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW THEIR MOTHER PAYS MORE ATTENTION TO THEIR SISTER WHO HAS CHILDREN IS SELFISH AND IS NOT GROWN UP. ALSO THE ONE LADY WHO STATED THAT YOU CAN DIVORCE YOUR HUSBAND BUT YOU CANNOT DIVORCE BAD CHILDREN. CHILDREN ARE NOT BORN BAD THEY JUST HAVE BAD PARENTS. SHE BETTER BE GLAD SHE DOESNT HAVE CHILDREN. PARENTS MAKE CHILDREN WHAT THEY ARE AND I AM OFFENDED BY HER REMARKED. IF MY DAUGHTER OR GRANDDAUGHTER WANTS TO BE SINGLE THAT IS THEIR DECISION. I MADE MY AND I AM GLAD I DID.

Everyone should have their own opinions. I do not think that single women should be pressured into getting married and having children. I do not believe that single women should be discriminated against and I believe that married women should not be discriminated against either. If you are happy being single then great! If you are happy being married with kids then great! What I did not agree with is that woman on Tyra saying that a married woman can not negotiate like a single woman. One thing, she showed her ignorance by saying that. There have been plenty of women in history that have made a difference that were married with kids that probably did more in their life then what she did in her time. I am a married woman and I am expecting a child. I have my degree in Criminal Justice and currently working on creative writing as well as my doctorate's in Psychology. And I have negotiated several times just fine. In fact, some of my single friends, I have had to help in difficult situations just for the simple fact I have a back bone and am not afraid to tell how I feel. So some people need to watch what they say about married people and single people because not all are like what they said on Tyra's show today. The lady that made that comment about negotiating may be single but she is also ignorant because she showed it on todays show.

man this show really i mean really pissed me off.... its ok if u dont wanna have kids, but dont say that the people that do have kids cant do certain jobs or are not strong women because i go to school full time i come home to another full time job being a mom and i have a husband in the military and u have to be a strong women to take care of ur kid while ur husband is on deployment in iraq... i love my husband but i dont need him to define me as a woman!!!!! i can take care of myself but i love havin the companionship that i have wit him!!! and my son is the best thing that ever happened to me!!!

"Selfishness" was a common theme that married women used. I would just like to point out that they also kept bringing up the fact that you need a husband and a child to feel complete. In my mind, this is proving their selfishness if anything. They don't get married and have children purely out of love, but for their own selfish desire to feel complete.