New Legacy Radio

In this episode we are going to address some prevalent social stereotypes most often, projected onto people without children, in general, and specifically from the perspective of Kimberly Martinez Phillips, who is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Sociology Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her research and dissertation are focused on single, never-married, childfree women of color. Many of the women interviewed are childfree, but that does not mean their lives are carefree. Her analysis utilizes the perspectives of feminist standpoint theory and decolonial feminism through an intersectional lens. In alignment with many of the key focus areas of New Legacy Institute, we will discuss the many presumptions of a childfree life being equated to a carefree or responsibility free life. We will delve into the expectations and realities of people without children becoming caretakers for parents or other family members, and the social and economic realities of being single and not having children. We will also address the gross misconceptions that human characteristics such as being nurturing and having empathy, among others, are exclusive trait of mothers and parents. Join us live for this conversation addressing some of the poignant issues for our community, and for the opportunity to learn from the rich dissertation research outcomes Kimberly Martinez Phillips will share with us in this special follow up episode.

In today's episode we will discuss the value of policy engagement for people without children, and why it matters for our community. We will look at the historical and current influences pronatalism has on social policy, workplace leave policies and benefits, and public policy. We will also assess the ways in which pronatalist culture and policies impact the daily lives of people without children, and why we must organize for collective action now. Joining us for this conversation will be New Legacy Advisors, Nandita Bajaj, Executive Director of Population Balance, Jody Day, who is an expert in female childlessness, and founder of Gateway Women; Dr. Robin Hadley, who is an expert and researcher on male childlessness, and Therese Shechter, who is a childfree filmmaker, and founder of Trixie Films! Tune in to learn more about New Legacy Institute's purpose in advocating for policy change, and creating a social justice platform for people without children. We will also share how our community and allies can become part of the change we envision for our community and beyond!

People without children, those who are single, and diverse families remain excluded from status quo economic and family policies. Further, economic models that drive the social status quo, force policies that are neither inclusive, nor do they meet the realities of the population.

The needs of households for individuals and relationships, which include chosen family require the same level of rights and protection granted to traditional family structures and households. What can we do to advocate for policy that reflects inclusive and equitable needs for our communities?

Here to share their work with us, is Diana Adams, founder of Chosen Family Law Center, Inc., a non-profit legal services organization, and their own boutique LGBTQ family law and mediation firm Diana Adams Law & Mediation, PLLC, both based in New York City They are an advocate for the rights and protection of individuals and diverse families. Their work has already influences legal changes in the area of housing, amidst other initiatives.

Tune in to learn more about the incredible work of these organizations and their founder, and how you can join us in taking action for continued change, which includes and protects us all.

Do people keep telling you you'll change your mind about having kids? Have you been told that your choice not to have children is selfish?

Award-winning filmmaker Therese Shechter delves into the taboos surrounding childfree women and choice. From social and familial responses to those who choose to remain childfree, to the resistance of the medical community to provide legally and medically approved procedures for those who voluntarily choose sterilization, Therese addresses the gamut of childfree choices and experiences.

Today we will discuss her latest documentary, “My So-Called Selfish Life”, which is a is a paradigm-shifting journey through one of our society’s greatest social taboos: choosing not to become a mother. We also celebrate the upcoming, international release of her film, which will stream everywhere, starting May 6th, on Mother's Day weekend. The opportunity to stream the film be available from May 6-16, 2022

To purchase your tickets, go to https://watch.showandtell.film/watch/my-so-called-selfish-life You also have the option to purchase tickets as gifts!

Join us for this introspective, expert conversation and an audio preview of “My So-Called Selfish Life!” For additional information, visit https://trixiefilms.com today!

Excluded from policy measures and absent in DEI frameworks, even where laws and policies are designed to prevent discrimination based on family status, pronatalism is so deeply engrained in our social, professional and systemic psyches, that its impact remains unacknowledged. As a result, non-parents remain invisible, while navigating daily and life-long experiences of exclusion and inequity.

From our own internalized patriarchal, pronatalist influences, to the ways we continue to cope and mitigate social and professional spaces that do not account for us, it can be challenging for people without children to express why the urgency to dismantle pronatalism matters.

How do we begin to unravel the embedded layers of cultural, structural and systemic norms that continue to re-enforce the social devaluation of approximately one quarter of the global population? What is needed to acknowledge the population that is, rather than the one that is theorized, based on marriage and children, to create measurable predictability, as economic units?

Join us for a revealing, in-depth conversation with Jody Day. We will explore new perspectives around the question of why the deeply adverse impact of pronatalism matters and why the inclusion of non-parents remains a silent issue within the workplace & beyond.

In the United States, the number of adults over age 55 15.2 million are living without children, while in the UK, the number of people over 65 without children, is expected to rise from over 1.2 million to 2 million by 2030.

Within our community, many are living at the intersection aging and not having children. The impact of both pronatalism and ageism from social policy and care to housing and community, is often lived in silence and social exclusion. The COVID pandemic further isolated those who live living and are often not considered policy meant to meet specific needs during such times.

While there are a growing number of gerontologists ad experts in the ageing field, our guest today, Patricia Faulks has a unique voice in this area, based on her lived experiences and expert insight. Please join us for this necessary and meaningful conversation today!

In today’s episode we will discuss the research initiatives of Kim Martinez Phillips, who is a PHD Candidate in Sociology. She is studying cultural representations of single women in film, and is currently interviewing single, never-married, childfree women of color, for her dissertation research. We welcome her representational insight and the valued experiences of interviewees. We will also touch on her recent research around the portrayal of single women in film.

The vast, collective community of people without children includes all cultures, colors, genders, disabilities, neurodiversity, sexual preferences, languages, and geography. We are an integrally diverse community.

As such, our work must reflect and continually evolve to center the layered and intersectional experiences and voices of our community; voices that counter and transcend the status quo, cultural, structural and systemic patterns of marginalization and exclusion.

New Legacy Institute supports research and other expressions of narratives by those who have experienced the stories within these perspectives. We are grateful for and looking forward to learning more from the work of Kim Martinez Phillips, at this initial stage, and as it develops.

People without children remain an unrecognized diversity group in the workplace and beyond. How do we begin to imagine the experience of truly inclusive organizational cultures and acknowledgement in the environments we work? What does employment equity for people without children look like?

Today we will speak with Dr. Erin Conner, Co-founder and Vice President of Inclusion Design Group, recognized as a leading DEI firm. We will have an in-depth conversation with Dr. Conner about the complexities of workplace dynamics, and how people without children are impacted.

We will discuss what is key to creating a culture of inclusion, and how individuals and organizations can begin to take steps toward cultural and policy change today.

Please join is for a valuable and vital conversation for people without children, human resource professionals and all who work for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace!

In this episode, we will examine the presence of pronatalist influences throughout the mental health profession, from leadership and institutions to research and training. Within these critical roles and educational spaces, the mental health profession largely obscures the lived experiences of people without children.

Given these influences, what is the impact on people without children, both as clients and practitioners in mental health? To help us navigate this conversation about what is needed to create greater inclusion and understanding of the needs of people without children, we will be joined by Katie Maynard.

Katie is an experienced licensed Clinical Social Worker, who is advancing innovative and meaningful change in the mental health space, through her work with clinicians, to expand their competency with therapy that is affirmative of childless and childfree people. Join us for this relevant, insightful conversation!

The conscientious journeys and decision-making processes by people who don't have children, often remain unacknowledged stories and contributions. Further, as our community of people without children grows in separate directions, namely via the identities childless and childfree it must be acknowledged that these identities most often reflect only the end points of this continuum. So, who are we as a collective community? What do the not so tidy experiences of people without children whose paths were not a simple "yes" or "no" look like, and how might the melding and choosing of 'childless' and 'childfree' identification be more complex than it is generally expressed? Our guest today is award-winning filmmaker, Maxine Trump, In her film, "To Kid. Or Not to Kid", Maxine shares her own journey on this continuum. Her film bravely plunges into an aspect of reproductive choice often misunderstood, mischaracterized, or considered too taboo to discuss. With rising public awareness about climate change, resource scarcity and global population, her film asks the question Why can't we talk about not having children?" Join us for this conversation as we navigate these questions and more!