Calling All Childless Cat Ladies

You're going to hear us ROAR!

“One day an army of gray-haired women may quietly take over the earth." - Gloria Steinem.

I know, I know elections are serious business, but this statement made by Republican VP candidate J.D. Vance during an interview with Tucker Carlson back in 2021, made me snort out loud:

"We are effectively run in this country…by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too," he said. "It's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children."

Not only is this statement false - Harris has two stepchildren with her husband, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and Pete Buttigieg and his husband (neither of whom are women or ladies) adopted twins in August 2021 - but it also assumes that parenthood is necessary in order to have a “direct stake” in the country’s future and to be an effective part of governing it.

So on behalf of all the other childless cat ladies (and gentlemen) out there, I’m calling, “Bullshit, hogwash, nonsense, rubbish, crap, and malarky.” Please feel free to add other synonyms.

Instead of giving attention to Vance for his misognynistic and clearly clueless statement, which he has doubled down on in recent days, let’s count the ways choosing not to procreate is a smart move. Here are some very well-known and well-respected women weighing in on why they have chosen not ot have kids:

• Miley Cirus: "We’re getting handed a piece-of-sh*t planet, and I refuse to hand that down to my child."

• Zoe Kravitz: "I don't feel pressured to have kids by a certain time…I still want to go on adventures, have fun nights, and see the sunrise…There's no finish line that I have to get to by a certain time.”

• Sarah Paulson: "I love kids but I’m very impulsive and I was afraid that I would have children and then regret it.”

• Oprah Winfrey: “I don’t think I would’ve been a good mother for baby children, because I need you to talk to me, and I need you to tell me what’s wrong. I can’t just figure it out."

• Tracie Ellis Ross: "The husband and the babies are what's supposed to happen at a certain point. There are a lot of babies. Isn't that part of what’s going wrong? There are too many."

• Margaret Cho: "Babies scare me more than anything. They’re tiny and fragile and impressionable! It’s too much responsibility. I am frightened of doing something wrong that will alter them forever. Give them a weird look, and they might be talking to their therapist about me 50 years later."

• Helen Mirren: “"I was always too engaged in my life as an actress. At that time, I couldn't comprehend that you could incorporate a child into that without letting a child down in some way."

• Chelsea Handler: "As a woman, I’m so sick — and have been so sick — of being asked that question [about having kids] when I’ve made my views so clear."

• Stevie Nicks: It's like, do you want to be an artist and a writer, or a wife and a lover? With kids, your focus changes. I don't want to go to PTA meetings."

• Ava DuVernay: "I don’t have children by choice. I always said that my films are my children. You know, I put my blood into them. It’s really what has my name on it. It’s what I’ll leave behind in the world."

• Ashley Judd: "I’ve chosen not to have children because I believe the children who are already here are really mine, too. I do not need to go making 'my own' babies when there are so many orphaned or abandoned children who need love, attention, time, and care. My belief has not changed. It is a big part of who I am."

• Jennifer Aniston: "We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies. That decision is ours and ours alone. Let's make that decision for ourselves and for the young women in this world who look to us as examples.”

• Dolly Parton: "I didn't have children because I believed that God didn't mean for me to have kids so everybody's kids could be mine, so I could do things like Imagination Library because if I hadn't had the freedom to work, I wouldn't have done all the things I've done. I wouldn't be in a position to do all of the things I'm doing now.”

I’ve collected many more, but I’m sure you get the point. As for me, I grew up in a very dysfucntional family. It took me many many years of therapy to get myself straightened out, and I vowed that I wouldn’t have kids until I was sure I wouldn’t pass any of that dysfunction on to a child AND had done what I needed to do for myself. And yes, I do have cats ;-)

So my wonderful childless cat ladies, please tell us why you’ve chosen not to have kids and share photos of your felines. If you have BOTH kids and cats how did you manage it?

P.S. I’ve been busy making merch for the campaign - tees, postcards, notebooks, and postcards. Would love your thoughts and support.

Copyright 2024 by Jena Ball. All Rights Reserved.

Previous Kamala Harris Posts

• Lotus for Potus

• This Could Be a Celebration

• Yes We Kam

• While We’re On the Subject

• It’s Time

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