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by rantywoman
Wonderful interview here on childlessness:
I think the real question is — what can society do to normalize Elsa’s situation? An urban area is more accepting of non-nuclear families, as well as singles. I think it’s her friends, neighbors, pastor, yoga instructors (who might, for example, address the class as if everyone were a Mom — i.e. — “Moms are tired” … as if no one else had challenging life situations!) Her co-workers who preface every meeting with ceaseless chatter about their children. The women at the gym who turn their back in the middle of a conversation when one of their “Mom” friends comes in. It is truly a social status of second-class citizen…
There is no push button answer. Most books on childlessness are written NOT by people who are childless, but by psychotherapists who are mothers. We need to be able to speak for ourselves, to be heard. The Internet is a great resource lately, but these blogs weren’t around four years ago, when my friend was going through this…
I can speak for what works for me, which might not necessarily work for someone else. First, I write, which is not a replacement for having a child of one’s own, but a distraction, pleasure, obsession, assertion, as well as a way to vent. I am lucky that many of my depressions have been cured by travel, a change of scene, whether a day in New York or a yoga retreat. I get out in nature, I pray and meditate…
In the future I plan to write more for people who live without parenting due to health issues. The media just shows us the woman paralyzed from the neck down who managed to have a baby — with a huge support system, money, etc. Most chronically ill people I know are unmarried and trying to keep a roof over their heads. To become obsessed with having a baby in such a marginal life situation is just madness, but we live in a baby-mad culture right now.
thebitterbabe 