The Truth About (M)otherhood: Choosing to be Childfree [Paperback]

In a world full of messages about the joys of motherhood, ticking biological clocks, pronatalist ideologies, and socio-cultural imperatives for women to mother, what does the alternative look like? That is, what is the experience of women who choose, or find themselves without progeny, when they are deemed “other,” instead of being a “mother”? This anthology of interdisciplinary work links to sociology, anthropology, psychology, demography, religion, language, literature, popular media, medicine and child and family studies. Are women that choose to be childfree always narcissistic, self-obsessed, and lonely? Or can they be free, mobile, and successful? Do all women who choose to be childfree do it in the same way or have the same motivation? What is the role of age, partnership status, trauma, or poverty in this decision? Using techniques such as literature review, ethnographic interviews, autoethnography, and textual analysis and reframing, these sixteen authors from around the globe unpack largely pronatalist, racist, sexist, and heteronormative views and assumptions about childfree women.

Helene A. Cumminsis a Full Professor of Sociology at Brescia University College (BUC), Western University in London, ON. She received the first Award of Excellence in teaching at BUC and was nominated on two occasions for distinguished teaching at Western University. She is a former elected Chair of the Department of Sociology, and former Associate Academic Dean at her university. She has published inThe Canadian review of Sociology and Anthropology, Women’s Studies International Forum, Advancing Women in Leadership, Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, The Canadian Geographer, andJournal of Rural and Community Development, to name a few. She was elected Chair of The Status of Women Committee for OCUFA. In 2016 she won The Status of Women Award of Distinction, which represents twenty-eight ul#