Voluntary Childlessness in Contemporary Ireland

Figures

Figure 1 Images of Celebrity Women Who Are Childless by Choice

Figure 2 Birth Rates in Ireland: A Historical Overview

Figure 3 Tuam Mother and Baby Home

Figure 4 Overview and Profile of Participants

Figure 5 Voluntary Childlessness: Developing Typologies

Figure 6 Categories of Childless Women

Figure 7 Typology of Reasons for Women’s Voluntary Childlessness

Figure 8 Stigma Management Strategies Developed by Park

Figure 9 Voluntary Childlessness: Developing New Typologies

Acknowledgements

At the outset, I wish to express my deepest thanks to the twelve voluntarily childless women who shared their experiences with me; without their contribution, I would not have been in a position to complete my original research or this publication.

I wish to sincerely thank my academic supervisors, Dr Máire Leane and Dr Jacqui O’Riordan, for their invaluable guidance and support throughout the writing of my original dissertation, and for their enthusiasm and genuine interest in the topic of women’s voluntary childlessness.

To family and friends past and present, some of whom did not live to see the publication of this book, I hold you in my heart and sense your immense pride in me.

I reserve the greatest thanks for my wonderful parents David and Noreen, for the ongoing sacrifices they have made on my behalf, and for their endless support and encouragement.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge Jackson, George and Ted, my St Bernards, for their unconditional love.

CHAPTER 1:

Introduction

The phenomenon of women’s voluntary childlessness in Ireland is largely unexamined, perhaps in part because of Ireland’s strong association with pronatalism, the origins of which lie in the belief that motherhood is natural and that all women have an instinctive desire to procreate. Historically in Ireland there was a limited range of roles available to women, with priority being given to marriage and motherhood. However, changes to the Irish landscape, the introduction of free secondary education in the 1960s, the lifting of the marriage bar in 1973 and the legalization of contraception in 1979 created possibilities for lifestyles outside the realm of motherhood and family. Women today have significantly more choices available to them to determine the course of their own life paths. Yet, in spite of this, high costs of living and limited and expensive childcare options make it increasingly difficult for women to reconcile motherhood with paid employment (Department of Justice, 2017; Murphy-Lawless et al., 1994). As women reflect on the choices available to them, a growing number are consciously choosing to reject motherhood. It is estimated that 20 per cent of women between the ages of 25 and 49 are childless in OECD¹ countries. Rates are particularly high in Austria, Finland, Germany, and Greece, where in excess of 40 per cent of women aged between 25 and 49 are childless (OECD, 2011). Without children, women have greater autonomy and control over their lives and thus have more opportunities to plan and negotiate their own childfree biographies.

However, research indicates that women who are childless by choice are viewed more negatively and experience social pressure to re-consider their decision (Park, 2002; Peterson, 2014). The reasons why women are choosing to be childless, the decision making process they engage in, and the reactions of others to same are largely unexamined in the Irish context. Using data collected from twelve semi-structured qualitative interviews with women who are childless by choice in Ireland, and informed by conceptual insights from theories of individualization, reflexivity, stigma, and stigma management, this book explores and seeks to understand the factors that shaped the women’s childbearing decisions, the nature of the decision making process, societal and family reactions to the decision, and strategies for responding to same.

Childless by Choice: Contemporary Overview

My interest in this topic arose from my personal experiences of being a woman who is childless by choice in contemporary Irish society, and my wish to consider my experience in the context of wider explorations of the issue. Searches for literature revealed no Irish examinations of the topic, despite the growing number of women in Ireland choosing this life course. Although it is difficult to get an accurate figure due to difficulties in distinguishing between voluntary and involuntary childlessness, it is estimated that between 15 and 25 per cent of women between the ages of 18 and 50 are childless in Western society (Blackstone and Stewart, 2012; Iwasawa, 2004; Merlo and Rowland, 2000). A European study by Tanturri et al. (2015) found that rates of voluntary childlessness have significantly increased, especially among women born around 1965. It is estimated that 25 per cent of that particular generational cohort of women are childless in Italy; 20 per cent in Germany and Finland; and approximately 15 per cent in Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Wales, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden (Tanturri et al., 2015). It is further estimated that between 23 and 28 per cent of women from Austria, England and Wales, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Poland, ←2 | 3→from the generational cohort of those born in 1975, will remain childless (Tanturri et al., 2015). In a recent study on Childlessness in Europe, Kreyenfeld and Konietzka (2017) reported that in excess of 20 per cent of women in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria who are nearing the end of their reproductive cycle will remain childless. These estimates suggest that childlessness may be an experience for approximately one in every four women across Europe at present and into the near future.