The Childfree have made it to the front Cover of Time! Four years after my book Two is Enough: A Couple's Guide to Living Childless by Choice was published and one year after the release of my documentary The Childless By Choice Project, I finally feel like the childless by choice have been recognized as the important emerging demographic that it is.
As I have said repeatedly, the rising numbers of childfree couples is a trend, not an aberration. The trend to postpone or ultimately forgo parenthood is a global trend that is likely to continue in the short term, as competing opportunities for women expand. It was nice to see that media outlet like TIME took notice and did such a great job of documenting this trend. And it just happened to coincide with the inaugural celebration of International Childfree Day (August 1) Kudos to Time and staff writer Lauren Sandler!!
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3 comments:
I am pleased that this topic is finally getting some credible coverage in the mainstream media. I am, however, disappointed in the choice of art for the cover. I'm tired of the characterization that couples who are childless by choice are selfish people who want to lie by the beach without having any real responsibilities. The cover TIME chose certainly won't do anything but promote that view of people who've chosen not to have kids. The article is pretty good, but a lot of people will never get past the implications of the image on the cover.
I'm very surprised that neither the Time magazine article nor anything I've read so far about the Childless by Choice Project have mentioned living with animals as a motivation for being childfree. My husband and I, childfree and in our late 50s, would be characterized as postponers: we always thought we would have at least one child, but eventually realized, by the time I reached age 40, that we were so fulfilled by our two cats, we felt no desire to complicate our lives with children. If I could add another item to the list of reasons for being childfree you used in your survey, Laura, it would be "My relationship(s) with my pet(s) is/are very fulfilling."
Having said that, I want to clarify that we don't share our lives with the aloof, independent type of cat that most people think of when they think of a cat. We live with oriental shorthairs, a very social breed with lively personalities and a desire for play that extends all through their lives. Our cats are, to make my point succinctly, a lot like dogs. And some day we may have a dog as well.
Is it possible that our relationships with animals—cats, dogs, birds, horses, whatever—are an underexamined topic? I mean, if you're going to do research on why people choose not to have children, it seems to me this is something one should include. I have heard numerous childfree people refer to their animals as "fur babies." And I, for one, am absolutely shameless about posting pictures of my "fur children" on the Web. =smile=
Hi Fi
I talk about this in my book Two is Enough. I should write a book Two Pets are Enough but apparently two pets isn't enough for a lot of People ;-)
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