67: Patriarchy and Pronatalism and Their Impact on Childless Women, with Jody Day

06/02/22 • 67 min

There is so much systemic prejudice towards childless women ingrained in our society today that stem from ancient patriarchal and pronatalist views and government policy. Most of us don't even realize the extent. I didn't realize it and received a bit of an awakening right on the show.
Jody Day, the "mother" of the childless woman movement, joined me on this episode to share her story and why she started Gateway Women. Her own need for community and support led to a network for childless women, a book, two Tedx talks and countless other accomplishments in the childless space.
Have a listen as we discuss:

the disenfranchised grief we feel as women who are childless by circumstance
the level of shame we pick up from our pronatalist society
why the patriarchal template for life and career doesn't work for women

Show notes: sherijohnson.ca/67/
Take the Worthiness Quiz and find out whether your own self-worth is holding you back from embracing your childless life!

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

the disenfranchised grief we feel as women who are childless by circumstance
the level of shame we pick up from our pronatalist society
why the patriarchal template for life and career doesn't work for women

Show notes: sherijohnson.ca/67/
Take the Worthiness Quiz and find out whether your own self-worth is holding you back from embracing your childless life!

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Previous Episode

66: Applying the 5 Stages of Grief to Childlessness

I think for most of us, there’s potentially a long process of coming to the realization that you are going to be a childless woman. There’s no one big moment. And yet, it still catches us totally off guard.

You grow up assuming you’ll become a mother one day. You have no reason to believe that you won’t be. Whenever you meet a childless couple, you don’t even really register it or think about what their life is really like. You’ll never be that person so it doesn’t even enter your mind.

And yet, there IS a moment when you suddenly realize, oh my goodness, I’m here. I AM a childless woman. Not going to be, but am already.
And then the grief starts. We go through the 5 stages of grief, just like someone who's lost a living person. We lost a dream. And that counts. Have a listen to find out how the 5 stages of grief apply to the childless path.
I'm currently offering a Dream Memorial, 1 hour virtual retreat to help you get to the acceptance stage of grief. Click below to sign up.
Join the Dream Memorial - Virtual Retreat
Show notes: sherijohnson.ca/66

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca

Next Episode

68: How to Know if You Are Stuck in Disenfranchised Grief as a Childless Woman

Many childless women feel the heaviness of grief as they begin to accept a very different future than they imagined they'd have. In this episode, you will discover:

What is disenfranchised grief and how to know if you are stuck in it
The mistakes you might be making to avoid processing your grief
The obvious and not-so-obvious things that childless women grieve
The first step to moving forward

Exclusive podcast for navigating grief as a childless woman:
sherijohnson.ca/secret-podcast/
Follow Sheri on Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching

Key topics:
00:00 Disenfranchised grief: How childless women cope.
02:56 Some of the lesser known things childless women grieve
11:58 What is disenfranchised grief
15:15 The mistakes childless women make in order to fix the problem of disenfranchised grief
17:20 How to actually begin healing from your grief

Where to find Sheri:
Instagram: @sherijohnsoncoaching
Website: sherijohnson.ca