A recent “Ask Polly” on The Cut shocked me. A woman writes in with the question, “Should I have a baby?” and even though Polly assures readers the “column is not a parody,” I admit I read the response more than once to be sure her advice actually seemed serious. Continue reading “Advice on the “To Baby or Not to Baby” Question”
Baby Matrix related
On the Myth of Maternal Instinct
In my 2017 childfree trending piece, I discuss how in recent years we’ve been seeing more talk about pronatalism. Some articles use the word directly, some not. An excellent feature article that appeared on money.good.is magazine last fall by Mike Mariani gives us a great example of the latter. Continue reading “On the Myth of Maternal Instinct”
Q&A With Research Scholar, Amrita Nandy on her Book, Motherhood and Choice
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing New Delhi research scholar and activist, Amrita Nandy, about her new book, Motherhood and Choice: Uncommon Mothers, Childfree Women. Check it out: Continue reading “Q&A With Research Scholar, Amrita Nandy on her Book, Motherhood and Choice”
Filmmaker Therese Shechter
On the Upcoming Documentary, My So-Called Selfish Life, by Therese Shechter
Filmmaker Therese Shechter is currently running a Kickstarter Campaign for her film on childfree women, My So-Called Selfish Life. Here’s the trailer:
Continue reading “On the Upcoming Documentary, My So-Called Selfish Life, by Therese Shechter”
Musings on IVF as an Employee Perk
Have you heard that Starbucks is now offering IVF as an employee perk? A few other companies have started offering an IVF benefit, but Starbucks is going further. Continue reading “Musings on IVF as an Employee Perk”
Smart Talk about Conversing with Childless and Childfree Women
We see a lot of pieces out there with titles including “X number of things” to do/not to do or say/not to say regarding childless and childfree people, but a piece by Helene Tragos Stelian is one of the smartest I have seen in a while. Continue reading “Smart Talk about Conversing with Childless and Childfree Women”
One of the Many Negative Effects of Pronatalism & One Woman’s Solution
Have you heard of the non-profit organization, Project Prevention? Led by founder Barbara Harris, Project Prevention helps addicts and alcoholics get on long term or permanent birth control. Why? So they don’t conceive children. Continue reading “One of the Many Negative Effects of Pronatalism & One Woman’s Solution”
Talking Pronatalism on the Podcast, This is Home
Check out the latest This is Home podcast just up today that talks about the choice to not have children.
I had a great interview with Producer/Co-Host Erica Gerard, and was happy to be part of this podcast!
The mission of the This is Home podcast is to “tell stories that expand the understanding of what family means to be more inclusive and reflective of the kind of families we see and experience every day – in all of their beautiful and messy forms.” This podcast episode speaks to home when it means “families of two“!
The podcast can also be found on itunes. Thank you, This is Home, for discussing this!
College Students & the Perceptions of the Childfree Choice
A recent study points to the entrenched workings of pronatalism, this one with a sample of college students at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Check it out. Continue reading “College Students & the Perceptions of the Childfree Choice”
Pronatalism’s Impact on Motherhood Regret
A recent article in the Life/Parent section of The Toronto Star took on a topic we’ve been seeing more of these days: motherhood regret. This article, “Mothers not alone in regret over having children” speaks to one of the most central pronatalist myths that all too often drives women to have children. Continue reading “Pronatalism’s Impact on Motherhood Regret”
