A fascinating and incisive look at a growing population: women who by choice or by chance have remained childless
June 15, 2001
Childless women power many industries, in which they are often expected to cover for working moms and judged for not having children. A professional actress, Cain (First Time Mothers, Last Chance Babies: Parenting at 35+) divides childless women into three subsets: those who don't have children by choice, by chance, and by happenstance. Childless-by-choice (aka, "childfree") women literally choose not to have children, either because they flat-out dislike them or because of idealistic religious or environmental reasons. Women who are childless by chance always wanted to have children but were prevented by infertility issues. Cain's childless-by-happenstance category is a catchall of women whose other life choices ended up stopping them from having children; some didn't have children because of their spouses' attitudes, some because they had no spouse at all, and some because they waited too long and their biological clocks stopped ticking. Citing a 1993 American Demographics article that claims there will be a 44 percent increase in the number of childless couples by 2010, Cain asserts that despite that projected increase, society will still harshly criticize women without children as complete aberrations. This is a bland read, but many women may take comfort in its findings. Appropriate for all public libraries; women's studies bibliographers may also be interested. Pam Matthews, Musselman Lib., Gettysburg Coll., PA
Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.