Women’s Feelings about Childlessness in Two Pro-Natalist Countries
 
More details
Hide details
1
The Institute of Human Geography and Demography, Vilnius
 
2
AGH University of Science and Technology
 
 
Publication date: 2020-06-24
 
 
Polish Sociological Review 2020;210(2):229-244
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This article focuses on women’s feelings in regard to being childless/childfree in two pro-natalist countries— Lithuania and Poland. The article is based on semi-structured interviews conducted in Lithuania (N = 40) and Poland (N = 31) in 2017–2018. Comparing the experiences of two generations of women, the article reveals how social pressure functions as a mechanism of social exclusion in both countries. The analysis of circumstantial childlessness showed two ways in which women constructed their narratives: feeling normal (which prevailed in the older generation), and having ambivalent or negative reactions (which was prevalent in the narratives of both generations). The most intense emotions were revealed by women who had not had children for physiological reasons, while those women who had chosen not to have children faced strong pressure from the social environment.
eISSN:2657-4276
ISSN:1231-1413
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top