Greider 1 ! Alice Greider CAS137H- Kramer 10/26/13 Non Parents: Childless or Childfree? In 1986, the cover of Ms.

magazine featured a picture of a late-timing pregnant woman with the title of an article, When to Have Your Baby. It assumes that the goal of every woman is to have a child; the emphasis is on when, not if. The word if isnt even an option in the statement. Today however, the American birthrate is at an all-time record low, even lower than during the fertility crash of the Great Depression. Fertility declined 9% from 2007 to 2011 (Sandler 37). A 2010 Pew Research study found that today, 1 in 5 women aged 40-44 are childless, compared with 1 in 10 in 1976 (Sandler 37). Advances in fertility options mean that this trend is not would-be mothers who simply are unable to have children. Instead, more and more women and couples are choosing voluntarily not to have children; of those childless women, 49% are voluntarily childless (Sandler 37). They decide that parenthood isnt for them, or that they dont think they could do it all as todays working mothers are expected to, or decide that they are happy without kids. Coming from a culture that equates womanhood with motherhood, with an exponentially growing baby market, this shift marks an evolving view of career women and the expectations of American families, with economic, cultural, and social ramifications if the trend continues to grow. Amid a culture centered upon maternalism with a supposed motherhood mandate, more and more people are choosing to be voluntarily childless, concurrent with changing perspectives in child-centeredness and the role of women in society. This childless by choice shift, as its been coined, is not only a dramatic shift but a sudden one, as the statistics indicate. Donald Rowland, author of Historical Trends in

Greider 2 ! Childlessness, points out that historically, infertility or widowhood was the primary cause of childlessness and that fertility decreased during times of war or economic hardship, hence the huge fertility crash during the Great Depression (Rowland). Even before the recession of 2008, the percentage of women 40-44 who had never given birth had increased by 80%, from 10% in 1976 to 18% in 2008 (Sandler 37). Though the recession has influenced family lifestyles and choices, the childless shift is more drastic than during the Great Depression proportionately. Yet today, there are ever increasing options for clinically infertile couples to have children of their own, adding to the maternal culture. Fertility treatment, post menopausal pregnancies, catalog sperm shopping, and widely available methods for adoption make it easier and easier to physically have a child and become a mother. This further accentuates those women who dont and increases the possibility that she will be judged for her choice, since now more than ever non-mothers will stand out (Sandler 40). Yet there is decreased funding for ways to avoid motherhood (Morell). Anti-abortion laws and increased regulation for pregnancy prevention techniques such as Plan B are on the rise. They further reflect the U.S. maternal culture, where motherhood is an essential characteristic of femaleness. It is because the decision to have a child rests mainly with females that this shift tends to be defined in terms of women. Although there are a significant proportion of childless men, 23.6% in 2010, the phenomenon is often reflective of women and their roles in society (Key Statistics). Pamela Smock from the Population Studies Center of Michigan says that both culturally and academically, childlessness defaults to women, in all scholarship in the social sciences (as quoted in Sandler 41). Interestingly, in a poll of childless people with an average age of 41 by the British Sociological Association Study, 59% of men said they wanted kids, and

Greider 3 ! half of those men felt isolated because they didnt have any. Contrary to women, the study found that men were more likely to be depressed, angry, sad, or jealous due to their lack of kids (Bahadur). Mothering is certainly a female task, but it has grown out of proportion, now involving responsibility for pregnancy, physical and emotion care and psychological, social, and intellectual development (Morell). Motherhood, short of being a female realm, is today an allabsorbing job. Marketing and advertisers have taken advantage of the all-absorbing motherhood lifestyle to structure a popular culture and consumer market that is obsessed with kids and families. Mothers represent a $2.4 trillion dollar market, twice the size of the annual defense budget (Sandler 40). Products from cleaning solutions to cars are targeted at mothers. The fertility rate is declining, yet the baby industry is at a record high, with $49 billion for 2013 and a projected $62.3 billion for 2017 (Sandler 40). Life and Style tabloids regularly do baby-bump watches and other magazines contribute to the parenting culture, offering everything from stories on the trials of parenting to how to handle playdates and the best wii games for kids. Simply looking at consumer industry, it seems incongruous that fertility going downhill. This is evidence for the fact that voluntarily childlessness is a shift that culture hasnt quite adjusted to yet. It is clearly still a developing trend. Stigmas still exclude childless women from the category of good women, and childlessness is regarded as an affliction. Though lasting impacts on society are few, there is actually a broad consensus and shift away from the childconcentric understanding of marriage. A 1990 Pew Study shows that 65% of people said that children were very important to a successful marriage, compared to 41% in 2007 (Douthat). Perhaps future adjustments will reveal culture adapting to accommodate childless couples. There

Greider 4 ! are already community networking sites designed for child-free groups, and raft of books on the subject such as The Childless Revolution, Childfree and Loving It!, Pride and Joy: The Lives and Passions of Women without Children and Two is Enough: A Couples Guide to Living Childless by Choice (Last). Such couples challenge the overarching commonplace of the motherhood mandate seen in U.S. culture. As seen, today mothering is an extorted and emphasized role in U.S. culture and even historically it was seen as a patriotic duty to bear and raise children. In the 1950s advertisements and propaganda emphasized the nuclear family and developed the American ideal of a white picket fence with 2.5 kids. But this was not always the case. In a subsistence farm economy, as most cultures were prior to the Industrial Revolution, childrearing was the task of older siblings; women had to be in charge of so much else for survival. Taking care of children was not their most important work, and therefore was not of psychological significance. Come the 19th century and industrialization, motherhood came to be elevated in importance. Now that the workplace was in a factory, home was seen as a haven, and it was a womens duty to make the home comfortable and devote herself to home and family. As such, she developed an economic dependence on her husband and a psychological dependence on her children. Even in the iconic Victorian upper class families, children were meant to be seen not heard, difficult to deal with but necessary to fulfill a parents duty. Later, largely after the tumultuous first half of the 20th century, children were associated with intimacy and emotional well-being for parents (Morell). This new idea of children also stemmed a reaction from the ongoing feminist movement, which experienced shifts of its own with regard to children. The first wave during the rise of industrialization extended the notion that women were inherently nurturant; as such they were

Greider 5 ! suited for motherhood. During the 60s and 70s however, a collective rebellion took place against the idea that motherhood best defined womens place and role. Then again towards the late 70s, the idea remerged that mothering and caring for others brought fulfillment and allowed women to develop a protective concern for others(Morell). Todays shift towards voluntary childlessness is a rebellion against that idea that women must have children to be fulfilled (Morell). Today, it is usually white educated women leading the rebellion against that idea of childdependent fulfillment, even cultures that value family are catching on. A 2010 Pew study reports that other groups now make up a small portion of the growing number of the childless. Esmerelda Flores, a mixed Mexican-Honduran woman, reflects on how her inherited cultures and family viewed motherhood as not even an option. Its more of a given...to declare that motherhood isnt for you is like committing treason (as quoted in Sandler 41). Yet Flores happily cohabits with a man and is childless. So although the trend towards childlessness is dwarfed by the mommy market, it is a cross-cultural one. So if the trend is gaining prevalence across multiple demographics, what can explain it? Studies have shown various correlations. Lauren Sandler, author of the TIME magazine article None is Enough, said in an interview on NPRs Here and Now that the childless shift is very secular, and that there is a strong correlation between religiosity and number of children, with the more religious less likely to be childless due to religions views on the essential purpose on marriage (Sandler, Childless Still Facing Stigma). Studies have also show links between high intelligence and childlessness, which make sense given that higher education correlates with high career goals, for which children present an obstacle.

Greider 6 ! Indeed, the most obvious reason for voluntary childlessness is an economic one. 1 in 8 American women expecting to remain childless earn a high income, 1 in 14 a middle income, and 1 in 20 a low income (Sandler 45). The trend is especially prevalent in high-earning African American women, who express an individual intention and desire for class mobility. The upwardly mobile and career-focused women see children as conflicting with their goals academically or professionally. With increasing expectations, motherhood is seen today as a fulltime occupation, requiring as much care for two children as previously required for six (Morell). For a women with a career, the opportunity costs of having a child that sets them off their career track averages at $1 million due to lost salary, lost promotions, and so on, according to economist Bryan Caplan (as quoted in Sandler 43). In addition, the U.S. is one of the few developed countries that does not provide for maternity leave, much less paternity leave. Women put off motherhood often because they feel that the do-both ideology (career and family) is impossible, and sets them up for failure as they try to measure up to the image of a supermother with briefcase in one hand and baby in another (Morell). Childless women challenge that ideology, but in a society that values self-sufficiency equally with commitment to motherhood, there is cause for internal conflict. With the stigma against those who remain childless, [w]ithout independence, were failures. With in, were selfish (Sandler 43). Women are never asked why do you have kids? Its always why dont you?, leaving the childless to justify their choice. Strictly numerically, a child born in 2011 will cost on average $234,900 until the age of 18 (Sandler 43). People also may just not like kids, have a lack of maternal instinct, chose to mother the world and work as teachers or counselors, be free from the contingencies of children, or feel that they cannot live up to societal expectations of parents

Greider 7 ! and continue their lifestyle. A common refrain is, I love children. I just dont need to own one (Sandler 41). Non-mom and actress Audrey Hepburn said of her decision not to have children, I dont feel we can do what we do and be great parents, and for me the emphasis would be on being great (as quoted in Sandler 42). The pressures on women to be good mothers, and also couples to be good parents as well as have successful careers, urges many to forgo parenthood altogether. Unrealistic expectations, unsurmountable costs, and career conflicts all contribute to the shift towards childlessness. Most of society sees childless couples, women especially, as unfulfilled or that they should feel like theyre missing something in their lives. Some are even harsher. In an article More Babies, Please for the New York Times, Ross Douthat condemns childlessness, saying that it is a spirit that privileges the present over the future, chooses stagnation over innovation (Douthat). He cites the fact that todays babies are tomorrows taxpayers, entrepreneurs, and workers and sees the childless trend at fault for knocking the US off its global perch. William Raspberry of the Washington Post article, The NonParent Trap makes the argument that [p]eople without children have a much weaker stake in our collective future (Raspberry). These criticisms may be harsh, but certainly if this shift develops further there will be economic changes. Already with the greying of American we see a change as the Baby Boom generation moves into retirement, takes out social security, and needs greater health care. What will happen when the succeeding generations needed to support them are even smaller? Will the target of markets change and the focus of the country be less mom centered? Already there is an underground movement celebrating being child-free, who can take easy vacations, go out for drinks, splurge now and again, and spoil their nieces and nephews. Very

Greider 8 ! few voluntarily childless couples regret it. Though this shift has yet to produce drastic and clear changes in society and gain the huge significance that more monumental changes have, it certainly could have societal ramifications in the coming years. It remains to be told if that will correlate into a further cultural shift. Take a look at any high school yearbook, and under the seniors future plans many people will list marrying happily and having beautiful children as their lifelong goal. Then look at those students who list travel the world or a career aspiration as their goals. Perhaps with the shift towards voluntary childlessness there will be more and more of students like the latter example. We are the only species for which mothering is an option; for all others it goes against their natural selection and survival instinct. Yet humans are different. More and more women, especially high earning, educated women across cultures and countries, are voluntarily childless, and loving it. The do not feel unfulfilled, as the general view of childless parents holds they should be. Despite the fact that todays society is focused on mothering and babies, with a so-called motherhood mandate, fertility decreased 9% from 2007 to 2011 (Sandler 40). Demographers, sociologists, and economists alike look at such figures and see repercussions across all fields. Yet the reasons for this shift stem from the culture itself; unrealistic expectations for mothers, large costs of having a child and putting careers on hold, and a slightly higher acceptance of non-parents when compared to previous decades. Perhaps in the future this demographic will no longer be referred to as childless, indicating a lack of something, and instead childfree; a positive choice instead of a negative one that reflects an increased acceptance and adjustment for this growing group of non-parents, those childless by choice.

Greider 9 ! Works Cited Bahadur, Nina. "Childless Men More Depressed Than Childless Women, Study Finds." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.

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Dothat, Ross. "More Babies, Please." The New York Times 2 Dec. 2012: n. pag. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. "Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth." National Survey of Family Growth. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. Last, Jonathan V. What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster. New York: Encounter, 2013. Print. Morell, Carolyn M. Unwomanly Conduct: The Challenges of Intentional Childlessness. New York: Routledge, 1994. Print. Raspberry, William. "The NonParent Trap." The Washington Post 29 Apr. 2002: n. pag. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. Rowland, Donald. "Historical Trends in Childlessness." Journal of Family Issues 28.10 (2007): 1311-337. SAGE Journals. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. Sandler, Lauren. "More People Choosing To Be Childless, But Still Facing Stigma." Interview by Jeremy Hobson. Here & Now. NPR, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. Sandler, Lauren. "None Is Enough." TIME 12 Aug. 2013: 38-45. Print.