Dr. Sekile Nzinga-Johnson, Assistant Professor in Gender & Women’s Studies at UIC and editor of Laboring Positions, will be joining us as our guest speaker. 

 

“A 2010 Pew Research report showed that childlessness has risen across all racial and ethnic groups. About 1 in 5 American women end their childbearing years maternity-free, compared to 1 in 10 in the 1970s. The decision to have a child is a private one, but takes place in an American culture that often equates womanhood with motherhood…women who choose not to become mothers are finding new paths of acceptance. As their ranks rise, so do positive attitudes about leading a life in which “having it all” doesn’t mean having a baby.”

 

Read the full article below:
“Having It All Without Having Children” by Lauren Sandler 

 

 

In what ways, if any, has our culture demonstrated a more positive attitude towards childfree women? How can we, as a society, better prepare women and men to make more informed and enlightened decisions about whether a child is an addition they want? Is the choice not to have children a selfish one? Have the media’s portrayals of childless women changed in recent years?