By FEMILY
Artist Statement: I love posting about being “childfree and proud of it,” because each time I post, people thank me secretly in my DMs for giving them a little more inspiration/power to say “no” to everyone asking them to please have babies. My husband has kids (marriage number one), but as I tell people all the time, “I’m definitely not a stepmom; my husband has kids who are in our family, but I’m not a parent or a step-parent to them. His kids (now grown) know that I’m in their family as an elder, and that my husband is their parent, not me. They know I was “childfree by choice” long before I met him.” I never liked anything about child-rearing. And I liked even less the super-severe and restrictive women’s gender roles related to momming. Living childfree has been the most liberating (and, for me, feminist!) decisions I’ve made. I’ve never wanted to have kids—and I’ve never regretted it, not even for a moment. It’s a choice echoed by 10% of all women throughout history, from childfree medicine women to the modern “Rich Auntie Supreme” movement. Even though myths say otherwise, research shows life happiness isn’t dictated by motherhood or the lack thereof, but by the power of choice over becoming a parent or not. Hence the importance of autonomy in our pursuit as women and queers to create our families, from straight solo moms by choice to queer chosen families to radical polyam polycules to bi women in open marriages with cishet men (here here!) and so much more.
FEMILY (aka Emily Meghan Morrow Howe), she/they, stands at the forefront of women’s and gender inclusion as a strategic advisor to the tech moguls of Silicon Valley (and beyond). Also, FEMILY is a success coach dedicated to uplifting feminist and LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, change-makers, and thought leaders. She is the visionary founder behind “Future Thought Leader: Self-Promotion Bootcamp for Feminists and Queer/Trans People” and the creator of “From Bi Curious to Bi Confident: a video course for women and femmes.” In all that she does, FEMILY empowers voices on the margins to take center stage in a world that makes it hard for us to secure the money and microphones we need to make a difference. Connect with Femily: https://www.femilyonthego.com