Childless?

Dear you,

Childless.  When did this become a thing to bemoan/criticize?  Gee, all my reproductive hot years, according to the breeding-is-best-advocates, were wasted. And here I was thinking I had happily chosen to go solo and not be a breeder.  As a feminist, and a human being, who is/was audacious enough to consider her singularity valuable, I never imagined the popularity of this newly twisted adjective. Being less without child.  Other derogatory "less" modifiers come to mind:

Hopeless

Meaningless

Joyless

Helpless

Expressionless

Ambitionless

Less as in lacking the noun base thing or quality.  On the other hand, there are positive "less" descriptive words:

Ageless

Boundless

Fearless

Breathless

Hurrah!  If described these ways, I am immune to the effects of age, I live without boundaries or limits, I am not afraid of anything, and I am capable of awe that takes my breath away.

How can I spin an adjective that denotes the NOT joyless experience of avoiding parenthood?  Instead of less, consider "free".  I am a child-free woman of a certain age; there is not less-than or lack here. There is only good old autonomous me. 

Let's see how long this "childless" criticism lasts. If we do elect Harris/Walz, eventually (with time and persistence), the cultural value of choosing to go solo will regain its former luster.

Resist twisted adjectives!

Love,

Child-free Joyce