Redefining Our Reproductive Identities with Aurelie Athan
Explicit content warning
11/06/22 • 63 min
Psychologist Aurelie Athan on the emerging concept of "Reproductive Identity." In the episode we discuss:
-How Aurelie defines the concept of “reproductive identity” and how she came to this work
-The different life experiences that help to form our reproductive identity - and how this intersects with other identity markers
-The cultural and social developments that have shifted the narrative about who is “supposed to” have children, and why
-Why the transitions and developmental phases of mid-life have been so unexamined
-Evolving attitudes to the concept of “generatively” - what we are contributing to future generations
-The impact professionally and culturally of women delaying motherhood to prioritize education and personal development
-How not becoming a parent is its own developmental phase psychologically
-The specific factors can help inform our “reproductive orientation” - and why some people are naturally “a-reproductive” (as in a-sexual) with no desire to reproduce
-How to create more space for ambivalence and fluidity in terms of reproductive identity and / or orientation
-The importance of having our self-identity verified by the way we are received in the world
-The importance of creating new language to describe the full spectrum of emerging reproductive identities
-The wider and ongoing implications for the concept of reproductive identity being embraced in the mainstream
Read Aurelie Athan's full paper on Reproductive Identity HERE.
You can pre-order your copy of Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood HERE.
Psychologist Aurelie Athan on the emerging concept of "Reproductive Identity." In the episode we discuss:
-How Aurelie defines the concept of “reproductive identity” and how she came to this work
-The different life experiences that help to form our reproductive identity - and how this intersects with other identity markers
-The cultural and social developments that have shifted the narrative about who is “supposed to” have children, and why
-Why the transitions and developmental phases of mid-life have been so unexamined
-Evolving attitudes to the concept of “generatively” - what we are contributing to future generations
-The impact professionally and culturally of women delaying motherhood to prioritize education and personal development
-How not becoming a parent is its own developmental phase psychologically
-The specific factors can help inform our “reproductive orientation” - and why some people are naturally “a-reproductive” (as in a-sexual) with no desire to reproduce
-How to create more space for ambivalence and fluidity in terms of reproductive identity and / or orientation
-The importance of having our self-identity verified by the way we are received in the world
-The importance of creating new language to describe the full spectrum of emerging reproductive identities
-The wider and ongoing implications for the concept of reproductive identity being embraced in the mainstream
Read Aurelie Athan's full paper on Reproductive Identity HERE.
You can pre-order your copy of Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood HERE.
Previous Episode
What is Ending When Our Lineage Ends With Us? With Dr. Jennifer Mullan
Dr. Jennifer Mullan of Decolonizing Therapy on non-motherhood as part of our intergenerational healing. In the episode we discuss:
-The intersections that are at play when we talk about intergenerational healing
-Different ways of thinking about what is “ending with us” when we don’t have kids
-The concept of the “soul wound” - and how this is passed on down the generations
-The trauma done to peoples - and lineages - across the globe by colonization, and the survivalist coping mechanisms that we have inherited from this
-Jennifer’s definition of “family dysfunction” - and how this is often a manifestation of these coping mechanisms
-Her experiences of family therapy, and how the focus is often on the child who is “acting out” - versus looking at the whole family system
-Why ambivalence about having children can reflect an intuitive pull not to pass intergenerational patters - or “curses” - on to a new generation
-“Parenting” in our activism or other community work - and prioritizing this over having kids
-What we are opting into when we “opt out” of having kids - whether this is a conscious choice or not
-How the pillaging of Mother Earth has impacted our capacity for mothering
-Jenn’s family’s response to her not pursuing motherhood - and her rage at their insensitivity around this
-The need for specific care and lifestyle options for older women without kids
Learn more and Dr. Jennifer Mullan and her work HERE and follow her on Instagram for updates about her forthcoming book, Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma & Politicizing Your Practice.
You can pre-order your copy of Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood HERE.
Next Episode
The Evolutionary Myth of the Maternal Instinct with Gillian Ragsdale
Evolutionary biologist Gillian Ragsdale on the myth of the "maternal instinct," and the extent to which the desire to birth a biological child is a social and cultural phenomenon. In the episode we discuss:
-Why no mammal has a primal instinct that links sex to a desire to reproduce
-Why we talk about a “maternal” instinct and not a “paternal” instinct
-The real purpose of the sex drive in human beings
-Why individual differences and preferences are overlooked in conversations about procreative potential
-The different factors that might make a person more susceptible to “baby fever”
-Why it is so challenging to implement more shared responsibility for childrearing between men and women
-An evolutionary perspective on the global population slowdown
-Why modern societal structures and family formation are antithetical to proper caregiving
-How “pair bonding” came to take precedence among humans and the impact of this on community and family life
-What it means to “widen the moral circle” when it comes to who we care for and about – both individually and as a society
-Why biological evolution doesn’t care about “quality of life” - but how lifestyle stressors do impact human fertility
You can learn more about Gillian Ragsdale and her work HERE.
You can pre-order your copy of Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood HERE—where you can input your order details to receive a FREE book club guide to accompany the book.
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