I think I kept my fan-girling in check. But honestly, what an absolute privilege to chat with the one and only
for our fourth Substack LIVE Writer Spotlight here at Life Without Children.Both Y and I wrote about the shitstorm that followed Chappell Roan’s parenting comment on the Call Her Daddy podcast. Both our pieces were published at Life Without Children on Medium. Y’s piece, titled: “Why Is Chappell Roan Getting So Much Hate For Acknowledging the Hardships of Parenting?” can also be found on her own Substack On the Outside, under a different title:
I can summarise our conversation in a few key points.
Firstly, parenting is still deeply entrenched in gender bias and sexism. When I say this, what I mean is that the term parenting all too often defaults to mothering. That is why Chappell’s comment about parenting made some mothers, in particular, mad. It was seen as a slight on the sanctity of motherhood, not parenthood.
Y and I acknowledge how mad society gets when women without children dare to have an opinion on what parenting looks like. But ladies - speak up - you are allowed a voice.
I’m so glad that in Y’s written piece, she acknowledged Chappell’s sexuality and the automatic barrier this puts in place for her access to parenthood. Chappell Roan is part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The access to parenting for people in this community is very different from that of people who are heternormative. We need to make parenting more accessible for the LGBTQIA+ community.
We acknowledged that Chappell Roan was accused of hating on mothers. In actual fact, both Y and I perceived her comment as supporting parents (not specifically mothers) and recognising the parenting plight. We speak of the importance of building solidarity between women with children and women without. This means we must stop romanticising and glorifying motherhood. Instead, we need to give mothers space to speak up about the good, bad and ugly aspects of motherhood without a fear of judgement or pushback.
Women supporting women, that is ultimately what this is about, right?
Useful links
Listen to the Call My Daddy podcast episode with Chappell Roan here.
If you want to read more of Y’s work on the topic of childlessness. I highly recommend these pieces.
A Tribute to the Childless Women Who Feel Invisible on Mothers Day
This Childless Woman Is About to Break a 30-Year-Old Family Curse
I Used to Call Myself Childless… But I realise I May Be Childfree, Too
You can also read my piece about Chappell Roan here.
The Real Reason Chappell Roan Is Being Dragged for Her Comment on Parenting
If you read us regularly and benefit from our content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or buy me a coffee.
I hope you enjoy watching this discussion as much as we enjoyed having it.
We have an exciting schedule of LIVE discussions coming up. Pop these in your calendar, and if you have any burning questions you would like posed to any of these writers, please drop them in the comments.
Thursday, 5th June, at 18:00 (GMT+1) with Charlie Brown
Discussing her article,How Do You Grieve For Infertility When There Is Always Another Potential Route To Parenthood
Join this discussion via the LIVE link here.
Thursday, 19th June, at 18:00 (GMT+1) with Joe Guay
Discussing his article, I Wanted to Be a Cool Young Dad - Not Do the Actual Parenting
Join this discussion via the LIVE link here.
Thursday, 3rd July, at 18:00 (GMT+1) with Colleen Addison
Discussing her article What Is It Like, Being Childless?
Join this discussion via the LIVE link here.
If you know anyone else who may benefit from our words here at Life Without Children, please tell them about us.
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