New Legacy Radio

What does the grief process look like for those who are childless? In what ways does the experience of childless impact people in their everyday lives and in the workplace? Today we will learn more from two therapists, about the childless experience. Judy Graham and Sarah Roberts will share their experiences of childlessness, and their unique approach, as grief therapists, who serve childless women. They have worked collaboratively to identify similar threads, related to the social and cultural experiences of childless women, and will share their collective expertise around the relationship between the individual experience and the shared experience of being childless. Through their therapy practices, professional histories, and aligned community activism, they have also worked to develop Childlessness Australia, a Childless Not By Choice (CNBC), national self-advocacy organization. Childlessness Australia advocates for the visibility, rights, wellbeing and inclusion of involuntary childless people in Australia. Sarah and Judy will share their vision, and efforts to date.

In today's episode we recognize the founding and evolution of The NotMom -- its blog, social networks, and events for women without children by choice or by chance. We are happy to join the celebration of The NotMom's upcoming 10th anniversary. We have previously discussed on the show the importance of how to come together as a collective community, engaging both childless and childfree community spaces, to influence changes in the workplace and public policy. Today, we will hear from the partners behind The NotMom: Karen Malone Wright and Laura M. LaVoie. Through their work and friendship, Karen and Laura have bridged their individual experiences of age, race, geography and living childless and childfree. They bring key insight and expertise to this conversation, and share what they have learned on their shared journey. We will also discuss how the scope of self-funded work that comprises so much of non-parents' efforts to create real change are so often limited to what we can do as individuals or partners because our voices, concerns, and initiatives are too often not included, acknowledged, or respected, by businesses, funders, and governments. We will delve into the realities of how and why inclusion is needed within our own community and beyond, and the underlying reasons for challenges we face to achieve meaningful, impactful change.

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.

The reasons for someone not having a child, by choice, chance or circumstance, are varied and vast. For some females, it is known early in their lives that a given medical diagnosis will determine their fertility, and for others, it may be undefined infertility later in life, or even the unforeseen consequences of cultural practices, which lead to not having children. Some of the topics we have discussed to date on New Legacy Radio are still often deemed to be taboo; from childlessness, to the unspoken realities of IVF and the lack of transparency and accountability around reproductive technologies. We believe these are necessary, inclusive and compassionate conversations to have in this space. Today we will speak with Angela Peabody, the Executive Director & Founder of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, who is on the forefront of legal accountability which addresses Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practices, and support for survivors of FGM. We will discuss what FGM is, the experiences of survivors, and the reproductive impact on women who have experienced FGM. Join us for this in-depth, compassionate conversation, to bring about greater awareness of these experiences, and in recognition of FGM survivors who are part of our collective community of people without children.

In today's episode, we will discuss the history of the IVF industry, and its latest strategies for expanding its market reach and services. This 44-year-old for-profit industry is estimated to reach to $37 billion dollars globally by 2027. It has done a masterful job positioning itself as a 'cure' for infertility and, more recently, selling the 'promise' of future family through egg freezing and other third-party services. The hope sale is central to its business model. Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos has fought for the last decade+ to raise the visibility of those who have been negatively impacted by what she calls "the industry's saccharine siren song." She's educated and brought much needed attention to the prevalent failure rates and health risks that accompany IVF and egg freezing as well as to the heavy personal toll when the reality doesn't match the marketing. Here in the U.S., this industry is predominantly self-regulated. Without external oversight, clinics routinely market their reproductive services solely to the upside of the IVF process. Their websites and materials are filled with curated success stories. We will explore what is not being said, in our discussion today. There is also a concerning trend among larger companies to encourage the use of 'fertility' services, targeting young, presumably healthy females, through services such as egg freezing. This is offered under the guise of creating a solution for women to delay having a child or children, in order to remain fully employed. This also allows for some employers to dismiss more immediate workplace needs for parents, such as paid parental leave and childcare, while also dismissing the potential medical consequences and mental health impacts on women. In 2019, when Goldman Sachs, began offering a $10,000 stipend for egg retrieval and a $20,000 stipend for egg 'donation', they also began offering 26 weeks of paid parental leave regardless of gender, caregiver status or method of parenthood (birth, adoption, surrogacy). While companies are offering much needed, extended parental leave policies and unvetted, one could argue, predatory fertility services subsidies, these pronatal efforts still fail to recognize or reward employees without children. The $10-20k benefit, in addition to parental leave, is hardly an equitable proposition for those unable or uninterested in having children. Companies must begin to engage benefits for all employees, regardless of parental or family status, from equitable subsidies to universal paid leave, regardless of reason. Join us for a highly informative discussion, to learn more about the reproductive services industry, and in recognition of survivors.

In the majority of countries, fertility statistics are most often measured by the reproductive experiences of women, exclusively. At least 1 in 5 women reach age 45, without having a child in the UK. This statistic is similarly reflected in several other countries, and is either higher or growing in others. What might this number look like, if we were to track people of all gender expressions, who do not have children, whether by choice, chance or circumstance? What do we really know about the experiences of childless men? We will delve into this topic with today's guest, Dr. Robin Hadley, who is an international expert on male childlessness and aging. Dr. Hadley is childless not by choice, and brings the depth of his lived and professional insight to our conversation. We will challenge assumptions about men's experiences of not having children, and address the realities of aging and male fertility. We will also discuss what men need most in terms of acknowledgement and understanding of their childless journeys. Our discussion will further reflect on what is needed for a more inclusive community movement to evolve, amidst the similarities and differences in male and female experiences of involuntary childlessness, social assumptions and policy inequities.

With more than two decades of activism, writing and wisdom, focused on the childfree choice, Laura Carroll will share insight around her journey, and the evolution of the childfree movement. She will also discuss her recently published longitudinal research, which followed 25 women over a decade. In this episode, we will discuss the need to find ways to best bring together the childfree and childless communities, to build a shared movement for meaningful change. New Legacy Institute advocates for a collective "without children" movement, focused on the ways our experiences intersect, and identifying what impacts us most, as a collective community. We will look at both the perceived and actual differences in our experiences, and how identifying terms often get in the way of recognizing the spectrum and continuum of our shared experiences. We will consider the ways we can choose to actively bridge our communities by reflecting on our common intentions to impact social change and to influence inclusive and equitable policy initiatives. Join us for this in-depth conversation for change. Share your questions and comments before, during or after the show on any of our platforms, or email [email protected]

Jody Day is the British founder of Gateway Women, the global friendship, support & advocacy network she set up by accident after starting a blog sharing honestly the truth of her childlessness in 2011. It got media attention the day after the very first blog was published. Not long after, she was interviewed for The Guardian newspaper (UK) for a piece that went viral & is still being read today. She has often been referred to as 'the voice of the childless generation' Her compassionate, inclusive, incisive and sometimes humorous take on all things childless-related is one that many have come to rely on. Jody has written & spoken often of the fetishization of motherhood, whilst devaluing non-motherhood to the detriment of all women. Another example of this is International Women's Day, which has increasingly come to be seen as yet another day in the year to 'celebrate motherhood'. Thus entirely neglecting the role that non-mothers play in the world, and further reducing women's social contributions to their reproductive status. Join us for a fascinating & wide-ranging discussion about the dark underbelly of the media & its roots in the 'shadow' archetype of the mother. The first place change needs to take place is in our own minds by awakening to the seductive & corrosive power of pronatalism and how it limits the visions, lives & futures of all women (which is exactly what it's meant to do!)

Our focus for this episode, will be on the origins of the childfree-parenthood-by-choice movement, the fight against pronatalism in the United States, and where we are today. Pronatalist culture, policy and language continues to permeate within personal relationships, across cultures, in the workplace, and through media and entertainment narratives. How do we become fully acknowledged as a diverse community of people who comprise approximately 25% of the overall population? Today we will honor the foundational work of the National Organization for Non-Parents (NON), later renamed the National Alliance for Optional Parenthood (NAOP), founded by Ellen Peck and Shirley Radl, in 1972. And although not having children wasn't new, and has been a reality for centuries, creating a visible movement, and speaking publicly to these issues was, particularly as it relates to the matter of choice. The purpose of NON was to support those who chose not to have children, educating the public around non-parenthood as a choice, bringing greater awareness of overpopulation, and supporting other groups with aligned goals. Our guest for this episode is social justice activist and entrepreneur, and former NON spokesperson, Joan Eisenstodt. Joan will share her journey to being childfree, and her history making experience in her home state of Ohio, as well as their experiences in the childfree movement. We will discuss reproductive justice, and voluntarily sterilization, for those who choose not to have children. We will reflect on what has changed since the start of the childfree-parenthood-by-choice movement, and not. Our conversation will assess the status of reproductive rights today, the perception of those without children, and what is needed going forward, for our community.

In our premiere episode, we will discuss the experience of being involuntarily childless in a pronatalist world, through personal experiences, and the need for change. Our guest for this episode is Hilary Fennell. Hilary is an award-winning programme maker and journalist with extensive experience of working in television and radio as a series producer and director. In her ground-breaking radio documentary, Childless, Hilary Fennell explores the realities and dynamics of being involuntarily childless in a child-centered society. Her voice as a childless not by choice woman, is interwoven with the stories of six other women. Each of the women speak to their diverse journeys in coming to terms with living a life without children. Currently, it is estimated that one in five women in Ireland will not have a child, by the time they reach age 45. It is further estimated that only 10% of these women are childless by choice (child free). Childless, focuses on the other 90% of women, who represent an often less represented group. This group is often silenced by the taboo nature of this topic, which remains today, despite the number of women living without children, not by choice. Further, these statistics do not include other genders. A majority of countries primarily track the parental status of women only. Societies have become obsessed with motherhood and the idealization of human reproduction, supported by pronatalist rhetoric, which is reinforced through policy, in the workplace and socially. Hilary navigates the social, physical and emotional impact of childlessness throughout her documentary, with skillful artistry and a full heart, amidst the shadows of grief, a call for social change, and the lightness of learning to live a full and meaningful life. Please join us to learn more about her incredible radio documentary, and the issues that matter most to those who are living without children, involuntarily.