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Valid LoveAuthor: Rebecca and Leah
Discussions and interviews about all things love: Kink, Intimacy, and alternative relationships, including the relationship with yourself. Language: en-us Genres: Health & Fitness, Sexuality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Freedom, Identity, Legacy: What Shapes Our Biggest Life Decision?
Episode 7
Monday, 14 April, 2025
The cultural war between parenthood and child-free living requires more nuance and understanding of both perspectives, their joys, and their challenges.• Different categories of people exist in this conversation: parents, child-free by choice, child-free not by choice, fence sitters, and even antinatalists • Chapel Roan's controversial comments about motherhood being "hell" sparked debate and defensiveness from parents• Motherhood can involve significant physical changes, identity shifts, and bring up unresolved childhood trauma• The first five years of parenthood are statistically the unhappiest for couples, contradicting the myth that babies save marriages• Child-free by choice people often value freedom, autonomy and need to constantly defend their decision against social pressure• Fence sitters exist in the middle ground, considering context, partnership, and different possible life paths• Happiness and satisfaction aren't the same thing—parents may experience less happiness but deep satisfaction• Equity in relationships becomes crucial when children enter the picture, with fair division of visible and invisible labor• Viewing children as separate from legacy is healthier—"I want my kids to want to be my legacy, but that's not what they are"• The most important question isn't "Do I want kids?" but "What kind of life do I want to build and with whom?"Email your feedback and topic ideas to podcast@validlove.org
