#224: Reclaiming Childfree: Chrissy King & Claire Gould on Bodily Autonomy, Reproductive Justice, and Wanting More Than "Fine"
This week's episode is one I have been so excited to share. I'm joined by two brilliant, generous, and deeply thoughtful guests — writer, educator, and body liberation advocate Chrissy King, and creative and founder Claire — who have co-created the Child-Free Coven, a community and mutual aid space for people who are child-free, by choice or by circumstance.
In this episode:
*What the word “childfree” actually means — and why Chrissy and Claire are actively reclaiming it
*Why being childfree is not anti-child, and the James Baldwin quote at the center of their community
*Chrissy’s story: ending a marriage, being the first woman in her lineage to have this choice, and what liberation actually feels like
*Claire’s story: knowing from her early teens, navigating a partner’s uncertainty, and how 25 years of undiagnosed endometriosis is inextricably linked to her childfree journey
*The things people say to childfree women and what to make of them
*The connection between body liberation and the childfree experience
*Race, reproductive justice, and how this conversation is profoundly different depending on who you are
*The political moment we’re in — bodily autonomy, forced birth, and what history tells us about these tactics
*What it means to pour your love, attention, and energy into the world without motherhood as the vehicle
*The difference between grief and regret
*What Chrissy means when she says she wanted more than “fine”
Resources:
Find The Childfree Coven on Substack and Instagram
Chrissy’s book: The Body Liberation Project
Claire on Instagram and Chrissy on Instagram
Rachel Cargill / Rich Auntie Supreme
Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother’s Hands
Tricia Hersey / Rest is Resistance
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Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Administrative Support by Alexis Glaubach
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters