Seems the problem is at the retail level. If women produced films that were interesting and desirable, Sundance or any of the hundreds of film festivals would showcase these films, which would then be bought by distributors if the audience reaction was positive. Money is blind, it does not discriminate by gender. There is no so called patriarchy deciding what gets shown. Witness the success of the Harry Potter books, which has made its female author a BILLIONAIRE.

My limited experience with female directors is that few produce anything but self indulgent, plaintive, unimaginative, stock drivel. The few exceptional female directors who do not indulge in narcissistic navel gazing- Penny Marshall, Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days), Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation- one of my favorite films) get all the distribution and press anyone could hope for.

Seems the question really should be "why is society not attracted to self indulgent navel gazing dribble?"

I really do wish more females would direct interesting films. I myself am fascinated by the female point of view and wish more was on display. Seems women hate themselves more than anything or else shortchange themselves with low expectations.

I'm not joking. My husband and I, fertile though we may be, recently decided to pursue international adoption so I don't even have to make this decision. There are plenty of wonderful, healthy kids in the world who need families already.

While I applaud Broadsheet for noting the many factors that must be considered when a pregnant woman is deciding whether to discontinue her antidepressant, this issue shouldn't be framed as a conflict between the needs of pregnant women and the needs of their babies. Maternal depression is not just harmful to the pregnant woman. It is also harmful to the fetus, and, postnatally, can have potentially lifelong consequences for the child.

When I was working on my PhD in Developmental Psychology, I focused on social and emotional development in infants and young children, and a large part of my research related to parenting. Women who are depressed during pregnancy have elevated cortisol levels--this stress hormone is passed on to the fetus, and may affect the development of the mechanisms that help regulate the body's response to physical and emotional stress. Once the baby is born, a depressed mother may have difficulty caring for her child in terms of both the physical and emotional nurturing that an infant needs. Children who grow up with depressed parents are more likely to show less optimal development in areas like emotion regulation, cognitive development, and peer relationships.

Please note that I am not saying that depressed women are bad parents, or that their children are hopelessly maladjusted. Most depressed parents are able to function adequately, and so do their kids. But on average, children of depressed parents are more likely to struggle with the kinds of issues outlined above.

On a more personal note, I have a history of severe depression that started when I was 10 years old. When I was recently pregnant with my first child, I stayed on my antidepressants. I think the exposure to the SSRI did affect my daughter's nervous system--for the first few weeks she had tremors, inconsolable crying, difficultly sleeping, etc. But now, at 18 months, she is a happy, healthy, well-adjusted, loving, and much loved little girl. Every day I look at her and think, "Thank god, I haven't ruined her yet!" If I had been depressed for most of her young life, I am absolutely certain that I would not be able to say that. All women deserve to be free of depression. And all children deserve non-depressed parents. There is no conflict here.