'Motherhood has never been my ambition,' says Renee Zellweger

[WesCAdle]

Didn't plan on it myself but shit happens and I am happy with my decision (although the last couple teenage years I've wondered... j/k). Some people are not cut out for parenting and I think it's great when they recognize it in themselves.

[tulip]

A few points:

Purple Rain always has something snarky and fundie zealoty whenever a woman expresses a desire not to have children. She always gets her ass handed to her for it,too. I guess it never occured to her that not all women who are career driven are nasty people, nor are they without children because their plumbing doesn't work. Choosing not to have kids is not the same thing as being barren (how archaic).

Contributing to the population is not the same thing as contributing to society.

People are going to have opinions. Period. This whole 'don't judge others' choices' isn't realistic because people will always have opinions about what other people do, no matter what it is. People naturally gravitate towards people who live like they do.

For me, I can see how raising a productive and healthy member of society could be rewarding for some who choose it. I don't see how the act of getting pregnant and birthing a kid can be a lifelong goal in itself. I agree with Jive, that does set the bar pretty low since practically any living organism can do that.

I most admire women who see motherhood as part of their identity (and who take pride in it) but do not see that as the sole reason for their existence or as the sole basis of who they are in this world. Women who are all about being moms and nothing else are boring, even to their kids and husbands.

There is a difference between having an opinion and being judgmental about said opinion. I, like you said, gravitate toward people who live like I do, but I don't pass judgment on people who have made different choices with their lives. I feel that especially, as women, we should live and let live. Women do each other, or the progression of women in our society, any favors by tearing each other down.

[Birdina]

"Women who are all about being moms and nothing else are boring, even to their kids and husbands."

I totally agree, and it's also not good for your kids.

I read an article recently written by a therapist. She said that people
who came into her office with 'issues' usually started with the same
thing: "My mother loved me very much, but.....".

She decided to start asking people in her life who were well-adjusted
about THEIR mothers. They often said, "My mother loved LIFE."

Teaching your kids how to live only for other people is a disservice to
your children. You should be teaching them by example how to LIVE, how to
grow and challenge yourself and enjoy your own interests. Not how to rely
on other people for all of your happiness and fulfillment.

[sweetness]

I'm a mother, but I'm not just a mother..... how is that even possible?

Most moms I know do a little bit of everything.

[RevellingInSane]

When I was younger, I said I wasn't cut out to be a mother. Fast forward to the present. I am a mother, with an AWESOME child. I am still what I was before; just a bit more juggling involved. I love every minute of it.

[Butterfly]

I'm a mother, but I'm not just a mother..... how is that even possible?

Most moms I know do a little bit of everything.

I know a few that talk kids all day long... I also don't hang out with them much.

I like having titles and I have a few, Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister, and Business Woman. I would hate to be just one.