Positioning of Childlessness: Reflections of Reproductive Age and Older Women

Abstract

This paper focuses on childless women reflections of their current status. During the qualitative research (2017–2018), 44 interviews have been completed with 28–71 year old women without children. Based on the positioning theory (Harré et al. 2009; Allen, Wiles 2013), the paper reveals how childlessness is being positioned on different levels: personal, interpersonal and cultural. The individualistic values – freedom from the burden, taking care of oneself, recognizing responsibility to raise children – were revealed on the personal level. On the interpersonal level, women of reproductive age expressed positions that were agreed upon with their partners or stated how difficult it is to reach the agreement. Meanwhile, the narratives of women from older generations reveal inert life scenarios. The cultural norms to have children in marriage had a strong influence on both women groups, who were in their reproductive age and who have finished their reproductive career.

Childlessness: Concept Analysis

“…At the end of the reproductive age, most women may not have children because they are not married or for physiological reasons. Women of childbearing potential do not have children due to delayed childbirth or partner disagreement, fertility disorders, or voluntary decision not to give birth [160]. Moreover, living according to a non-traditional family model, lack of legal regulation of relations in the country (e.g., the inability to marry or formally marry), the financial responsibility of raising a child, and the uncertainty about the future if one has to raise a child alone, also deter a woman from planning to have a child [160].…”

“…Some other reasons are related to contraception, women seeking higher education and gender inequalities in the labor market [153,161]. Cultural norms to have children in marriage have a strong impact on both women of childbearing age and younger women [160].…”

“…Besides adoption, raising the children of relatives can also be part of the adaptation. Working with children or raising the children of relatives in older women can be a com-pensation for not having their own children [84,160]. Being such "a substitute mother", "a social mother", or "a godmother" can be important for the childless woman as well as the child [84].…”