Tag Archives: childless by choice

The Soapbox: It’s Not Just That I Don’t Want Kids, It’s Also That I Don’t Like Them

Chanel DubofskyMay 16, 2013 //
What Not To Say
... to people who don't want kids. Read More »
No Kids For Gloria
Gloria Steinem on Chelsea Lately
Gloria Steinem explains why she never wanted children. Read More »
Women Without Kids
Women writers without kids understand human emotions, too. Read More »
screaming child

Last week, I was in a conversation on Facebook in which I admitted to not liking kids. (My comment: “Real talk: I don’t actually like babies, actually, or children.”) I thought about taking it down as soon as I posted it. An hour later, I was still thinking about taking it down. No one paid much attention to the comment; it’s not really a secret among my friends that I feel this way, although one friend wrote “Yikes,” which I’m still not sure how to respond to. Nevertheless, I felt like I had crossed some serious line. I post everything I write — mostly personal essays that connect to my political beliefs — on social media. As such, this status is definitely not the first time I’ve insulted someone with my beliefs. Yet affirming my dislike of children on Facebook seemed like a whole new level of evil.

But still, I didn’t take the status down. Keep reading »

Hitched: What Not To Say To People Who Don’t Want Kids

Andrea GrimesMay 8, 2013 //
My Husband's Vasectomy
Why Andrea's husband is getting a vasectomy. Read More »

Now that I’m an old-ass boring married lady, spending all my time vacuuming in heels, watching my stories and making martinis at 5 p.m. in anticipation of the imminent arrival of the most interesting man in my world, the only thing left for me to do in life is get pregnant.

But that is not the plan. Well, the making myself martinis at 5 p.m. is frequently part of the plan. Which would be a bad plan if, indeed, Patrick and I were trying to have kids. But this Sunday, and every forseeable third Sunday in May after that, I will celebrate my mom and my mother-in-law, and never be celebrated myself.

By my own design. Of my own volition. With the express agreement of my husband, who will similarly find himself celebrating his dad and father-in-law on future third Sundays in June, but never receive a hideous tie of honor himself.

I realize this isn’t normal for most people. But whether it’s normal or not, let me ask you to err on the side of not being a presumptuous snoot when talking to people who don’t have kids and who, moreover, don’t want to have kids. Keep reading »

Hitched: Why My Husband Is Getting A Vasectomy

Andrea GrimesSeptember 26, 2012 //
No Interest In Kids
Gloria Steinem on Chelsea Lately
Chelsea Handler and Gloria Steinem do not want kids. Read More »

I’ve been walking around with a sketch of a uterus and cervix in my reporter’s notebook for several weeks now, courtesy of my gynecologist. She drew it while explaining to me how an IUD works. I keep it around both because I like it as a conversation piece and because when you write about ladyparts as much as I do, it’s actually quite useful as a reference tool at the office or, you know, the bar. Wherever.

But what I like best about my little IUD sketch is that I don’t need it, because my husband is getting a vasectomy. When it comes to long-term contraception that isn’t sterilization, vasectomies are the bee’s infertile knees. The benefits are many: I don’t have to live with a foreign body inside me (either of biological origin or one made of copper), condom breakage isn’t a constant concern, and neither do I have to rely on hormones or head back to my doctor’s office regularly for a Depo shot. Keep reading »

Chelsea Handler & Gloria Steinem Do Not Want Kids, So Lay Off, OK?

Jessica WakemanOctober 14, 2011 //
Gloria Steinem Doc
We loved "Gloria: In Her Own Words." Read More »
Feminist Men
John Lennon photo
Twelve dudes who are proud feminists. 13 Photos »
Drunk Is A Feminist Issue
Why women should be concerned about binge-drinking. Read More »
Gloria Steinem on Chelsea Lately
Watch Video

Chelsea Handler and Gloria Steinem have been hanging out and I’m never invited. It’s cool. I’m not, like, devastated or anything. But I’m just saying, if Arianna Huffington walked up to Chelsea at a Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women event and lectured her how she’s “so maternal” and “needs” to have children, I would have had Chelsea’s back, too.  Chelsea and Gloria and I can be “CGJ,” — sort of like “MVP” but feminist and smart and awesome.  [E! Online] Keep reading »