Being childfree is a choice and lifestyle that can inspire immediate and visceral emotional responses from people, while other lifestyles or pursuits are not particularly scrutinized or triggering. A person who aspires to be a parent is viewed as normal and wholesome, while a person who aspires to live kidfree is often viewed as neither normal nor wholesome.

I view people who react to childfree people with judgement and indignance and disdain as, essentially, basic. In reality, most people lack the intelligence, introspection, curiosity and awareness needed to manage their own thoughts and emotions around the idea of living kidfree: they simply get triggered and react with fear and emotion rather than reason.

In an effort to further normalize our lifestyle, I came up with three analogies that I think may be useful when trying to process your decision to live kidfree or when helping others understand why you might want your life to look different from theirs.