The recent article, “Americans Are Having Fewer Babies. They Told Us Why,” discusses a new survey conducted by Morning Consult for The New York Times. It reports on survey results regarding why “young adults are having fewer children than their ideal number” as well as why they aren’t sure and why they don’t want them at all. Let’s take a brief look at the ‘aren’t sure’ and ‘don’t want them’ group of respondents. Continue reading “On a Recent Morning Consult and New York Times Survey on Having/Not Having Children”
Social-Cultural Issues
Procreative Ethics, Pronatalism, and the Childfree Choice
I sure love that we are seeing more pieces like this one: “Would you give up having children to save the planet? Meet the couples who have.” While all people don’t “give up” having children, I do like that it discusses the larger picture of bringing another biological child into the world. Continue reading “Procreative Ethics, Pronatalism, and the Childfree Choice”
Taking a Deeper Look at “Baby Fever”
Seeing the piece, “Baby Fever in Your 20s? Here’s What Experts Say That Means” sparked my interest in looking into research on what’s referred to as “baby fever.” Let’s take a look. Continue reading “Taking a Deeper Look at “Baby Fever””
On RBG, and a Final Frontier for Equal Treatment
The new documentary on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RBG, is a must-see. As The Economist piece, “How Ruth Bader Ginsburg became a trailblazer for gender equality” summarizes, this film gives us a real feel for how “Ms. Ginsburg built America’s gender equality standards brick by brick,” and “the quieter parts of this remarkable justice’s life.” Continue reading “On RBG, and a Final Frontier for Equal Treatment”
Understanding the “Whole of Women’s Reproductive Lives”
Pew Research Center recently came out with an interesting report on the numbers of women having children. Based primarily on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s June Supplement of the Current Population Survey, Pew Research Center collected “completed fertility” data on “…women who are now 40 to 44 who have had a baby.” The data reflect “what [women] actually did, not what they were projected to do.” Here’s some of what it found: Continue reading “Understanding the “Whole of Women’s Reproductive Lives””
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”
Holiday Season Advertisers: It’s Time to Target Women without Children
Every holiday season, advertisers spend billions of marketing dollars to get us to buy their products and services. At this time of year, advertisers lose revenue because they don’t market to a specific demographic: the 47 percent of American women of childbearing age who are not mothers. Continue reading “Holiday Season Advertisers: It’s Time to Target Women without Children”
Not Having Kids: From Moral Outrage toward Moral Duty
One particular phrase relating to a study that came out last spring continues to pop up online: moral outrage. The study, “Parenthood as a Moral Imperative? Moral Outrage and the Stigmatization of Voluntarily Childfree Women and Men” has a finding that not having children by choice “inspires moral outrage in others.” While the study’s author Leslie Ashburn-Nardo acknowledges “mean levels of moral outrage were small overall” and it can be argued that the media have overblown this finding, it’s worth asking why people can feel morally outraged by the childfree. Here are two big reasons why. Continue reading “Not Having Kids: From Moral Outrage toward Moral Duty”
Long-Term Marriages: Pondering Recent Study Results
A recent study in the Social Psychology Quarterly looks at long-term marriages and has some interesting results to ponder. A summary of findings include: Continue reading “Long-Term Marriages: Pondering Recent Study Results “
