Childless or Childfree?
Why your choice of language matters
August 1st is International Childfree Day. It may seem like one of those made-up holidays that get added to calendars purely for the benefit of marketing companies, but for me, it’s an important day and I celebrate it as such.
Unlike those who celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Grandparents Day, it’s unlikely that I’ll ever get texts of well-wishes, cards, or obligatory greetings from strangers at the grocery checkout. Nobody will celebrate my decision not to reproduce. No one will praise me for being “selfless” in my choices (quite the opposite, in fact). Most people won’t even be aware that such a day exists.
And, for the most part, that’s just fine with me. I take the time to celebrate myself and my partner and our place in this growing community of like-minded adults who are, at best, ambivalent about the whole endeavor that is parenthood. Last year, we celebrated by kayaking on the Hudson River with other childfree people and eating waffles for dinner. Like grown-ups. This year, who knows? Part of the beauty of being childfree is that you can spontaneously decide to celebrate occasions, important and trivial alike, however, you want (even during a pandemic).
There’s a growing number of people who, for a variety of reasons, have concluded that parenthood…
