"A photographer in Berlin is capturing the lives of the consciously child-free."

Moonbeam

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/style/childfree-women.html

I thought that this was a good article.

Faith

It is, thanks for sharing!

Some quotes from the article:

Around the world, women who don’t procreate are often stigmatized, labeled unusual, unfulfilled and unhappy. A 2016 study on the stigmatization of child-free women and men in the journal “Sex Roles” found that some people even feel moral outrage at people who decide not to have children. The Catholic Church seems to agree: “The choice not to have children,” Pope Francis told an audience in St Peter’s Square in 2015, “is selfish.”

About four in 10 U.S. adults under 50 without children said they didn’t expect to become parents, according to a 2018 Pew Research survey. And plenty of research suggests that nonparents tend to be happier than parents — especially in the United States. A 2018 study from the Institute for Family Studies, which looked at 40 years of data on children and happiness in America, found that married mothers were less happy than married women without kids.

notsoyoungwan

Thanks for sharing, that’s a great read.

I agree that people (and it’s mostly other women) feel threatened or challenged by women who choose to be childfree. They see it as an inherent criticism of their lifestyle and choices, whereas, like the lady in the article, I don’t really think too much about them at all, in terms of motherhood, beyond a hope that they’re happy, but I hope that about everyone I know!

R.D. aka MR.D

Lovely article!

The older I get, I do start to view non-motherhood as breaking away from a patriarchal idea of female roles. It is so clear, especially in developing countries that having children holds women back. I see it in my own career, the fact that women are traditionally the carer, they are burdened massively. They generally drop out for a few years. It shouldn't be that way but society isn't interested in changing.

I do see why a childfree woman can be intimidating. It represents someone willing to make their own choices, compete on the same level.

We have so much acceptance of different lifestyles but Childfree is still misunderstood and still somewhat taboo. Love seeing articles like this, the more discussion the better.