Author, activist, and educator Rachel Cargle, talks about choosing to be childfree as a reflection of the kind of life she wants to live. In the episode we discuss:

-How Rachel’s early childhood influences helped expand her vision for her life path

-How her mother’s disability made her even more determined to go after what she wanted for herself

-The tools we develop to survive when we are young – and why we need to update them as we mature

-The factors that informed Rachel’s (current!) decision not to become a parent

-Ways to build community and chosen family as women without kids

-The origin story of Rachel’s childfree platform, Rich Auntie Supreme

-The significance of the role of “auntie” in Black and indigenous communities

-Claiming the “childfree” identity as being central to who we are

-How Rachel’s queer, non-monogamous identity intersects with her childfree status

Join me and Rachel on our Celebrate Being Childfree retreat, which is taking place Sept 12-15 2024. Get all the details and sign up to attend in person here and via livestream here.

You can learn more about Rachel and her various projects here, get her book here, and follow her on IG here. Rachel's childfree platform is @richauntiesupreme.

Stay tuned for a new format and more impactful conversations in Women Without Kids: Season 2!

Therapist and author Kelly McDaniel on the links between non-motherhood and what she calls "mother hunger." In the episode we discuss:

-Kelly’s definition of “mother hunger” and how she came up with the term.

-Why 50% of the population experience mother hunger and how it manifests in issues around food and love.

-What causes mother hunger - and why this is often the result of an epigenetic inheritance.

-Why structural issues make it harder for mothers and babies to bond - and the lifelong attachment issues that can result from this.

-How mother hunger impacts our procreative choices and how we may feel about becoming mothers ourselves.

-The links between mother hunger, anorexia, and being “a-reproductive” (i.e. having no desire to reproduce).

-The impact of a lack of paid parental leave on mother hunger.

-Why choosing not to have a child can be the most “loving” choice if we are aware that our capacity to mother is being compromised.

-Why our materialistic, consumer culture is just another substitute mother - and a way we seek to soothe our mother hunger.

Learn more about Kelly's work HERE and find her book, Mother Hunger, HERE.

Get your copy of Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood HERE.