When we were born, we were each childless and worthy; our childlessness cannot take that away, although during the hard yards of making our peace with childlessness, it can feel out of reach.
As we move into elderhood without motherhood, we are faced by the trifecta of ageism, pronatalism and sexism and, depending on our individual experiences, probably a few other isms too, such as racism, ablesim and homophobia. All of these hierarchical systems of othering seek to rob us of our birthright of worthiness, and serve to silence, disconnect and disempower us.
We have to wonder why would society seek to undermine us in such a way? If we allow ourselves to get curious, who or what does our diminishment serve? Certainly not us! And neither does it serve the needs of younger childless women who desperately need examples of both ordinary and extraordinary older childless women living their lives without shame.
So whatever your age or story, you are warmly invited to come and spend an hour in the company of this group of powerful, frank, older childless women as we continue our pushback against the cultural silencing and othering of childless women of all ages. Between us, we have hundreds of years of personal experience of reclaiming our worthiness with joy, tenacity and humour, every single day.
DATE: Saturday 19th September
TIME: 8.00pm BST - Find your timezone HERE
REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR HERE
Please note: Whilst the panellists will be recorded, your camera and audio will be turned off. If you are unable to attend the webinar live, you DO NOT need to register to watch the replay. Just subscribe to the World Childless Week YouTube channel and you’ll be notified when new recordings are added.
PANELLISTS
Jody Day - Ireland
World Childless Week Ambassador
Jody Day is the founder of Gateway Women, a psychotherapist, the author of Living the Life Unexpected and a TEDx speaker with ‘The Lost Tribe
of Childless Women,’ having been watched 230K times. She was a founding and former board member at the UK charity Ageing Without Children, and has been a World Childless Week Ambassador since the beginning. Now in her sixties, her focus has turned towards ‘elderhood without motherhood’, which she explores on her Substack, Gateway Elderwomen.
She lives in rural Ireland and is managed by a small cheeky terrier called Puffin.
Jody will be joined by The #NomoCrones, a group of not-mother from all over the world that Jody gathers around the Zoom Fire near each Solstice and Equinox. What does 'NOMOCRONE' mean? Well, nomo = not-mother and crone hasn't always been an insult!
Faith Agugu (AUS/UK): Psychotherapist and the founder of Silver Sirens, an Australian organisation that empowers women 50+ to redefine ageing.
Dr Stella Duffy OBE (UK/NZ): Former WCW Ambassador. Existential psychotherapist; lecturer; novelist; playwright; yoga teacher
Dr Gayle Letherby (UK): WCW Champion. Feminist sociologist; visiting professor; freelance academic; memoirist
Jean Basson (UK): Former educator and teacher, trainer and advisor; former carer for her mother; co-founder of AWOC Leeds (2015) and an AWOC (Ageing without Children) Trustee
Maria Hill (USA): Maria is an author, HSP thought leader, and trained life/cultural frameworks coach. She can be reached through her Substack, A Different Dream.
Kate Kaufmann (USA): Author 'Do You Have Kids? Life When the Answer Is No'; Psychology Today columnist with 'Unapparent'
Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos (USA): WCW Champion. An award-winning journalist, researcher and truth-teller about the realities and the aftermath of ART (assisted reproductive technology). Author of the first life-after-failed-IVF memoir, Silent Sorority (2009).
Stephanie Raffelock (USA): Award-winning novelist; poet; essayist; creative writing teacher. Women's rights advocate.
