Hans-Peter | Vasectomy as a Gift of Love
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Release Date: 10/08/2024
Sneha | Standing up to Patriarchy
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Raised in a conservative Indian family, Sneha knew from an early age that she didn't want to have a biological child. As a teen she discovered her queer identity, and in her twenties Sneha made the difficult but liberating decision to leave her parents’ house and hometown. Sneha has rejected the patriarchal expectations of procreation and marriage and embraced her own path - filled with strong friendships, family, and her companion animals. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions...
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Elena | Reimagining Family After Cancer
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
At age 27 Elena is diagnosed with an advanced cancerous brain tumor. As she confronts this life-changing and grief-filled reality, she also wrestles with the question of whether to bring a child into the world - balancing her love for children and the future she once imagined against her understanding of ecological overshoot, pronatalist pressures, and the profound uncertainties of life itself. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us...
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Pip | The Joyful Simplicity of Being Single
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
From a very early age Pip sensed she didn’t want children, and a diagnosis of premature ovarian failure at 15 confirmed that path. As she grew older, Pip found herself desperately searching for the perfect partner to complete her. A chance conversation blew open the door regarding societal expectations around relationships, sex, and conventional measures of success. Childfree, single, and celibate, Pip lives an independent, authentic, and joyful life with her family of two rescue dogs. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or...
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Joe | Every Earthling is My Family
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Growing up in rural England, Joe knew early in life that he didn’t want children and felt a deep connection to the natural world. While navigating pressures to conform to “normal” life, he lost that connection in his 20s. Now, alongside his partner, he’s built a rooted in love for nonhumans — founding and managing an ecocentric journal called and working to protect biodiversity, , in his local habitat. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and...
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Sonia and Aamer | A Conscious “One & Done” Choice
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Originally from Pakistan and now based in Canada, Sonia and Aamer met as adults. They decided together that they wanted to become parents, but were also deeply concerned about the environment. After spending a few years carefully weighing their emotional and financial readiness, environmental values, and desire for parenthood, they chose to have one child. Right after the birth of their son, they knew that their family of five, including two rescue dogs, was complete. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is...
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Jennifer | From Divorce to Self-Discovery
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
After nearly becoming a mother in a marriage that wasn’t right, Jennifer shares how divorce and a commitment to self-definition became her path to clarity. Starting over has been emotionally wrenching, but she's forging her own path of deep friendship, meaningful community service, and dedication to authentically being herself. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a choice about how we define and create our...
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Kat | A Black Feminist Upbringing
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Raised in a Black feminist family of highly educated women committed to service, grew up without the pressure to marry or have children. Single and childfree, Kat channels her time and energy into projects that make a difference - building a life of purpose, freedom, and joy. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a choice about how we define and create our families? Beyond Pronatalism host Nandita Bajaj...
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Paddy | Joyfully Rejecting the System
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Paddy’s emotionally-detached boarding school upbringing left him distrustful of authority, including the unspoken expectation to have children. A growing awareness of ecological and social crises and the desire to break a cycle of generational family trauma led him to choose a vasectomy. Today, he and his wife enjoy a joyful life while standing up to oppressive systems. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a...
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Luke and Stefanie | The Simple Joys of a Childfree Life
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Luke and Stefanie reflect on how, free from strong family or religious pressure and true to their own desires, they were able to make an early, mutual decision to live childfree. They reflect on the enormous emotional weight they've seen parents carry and express a profound relief and gratitude that they can enjoy meaningful, well-lived, childfree lives in kinship with the natural world. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of...
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Elizabet | Confessions of a Regretful Mother
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Elizabet, the daughter of Bulgarian immigrants in the Czech Republic, shares her experience of coming out as gay in her teens and subsequently raising a child alone. She now speaks openly about her parental regret, rooted in her worry for both her child's future and her deep love for the natural world and concern for its destruction. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us...
info_outlineRaised in a small Catholic village in Germany, curious 13yo Hans-Peter used his first paycheck to buy a Bible. A deep dive into Chritianity drove him to stand up for reproductive rights and ecological sustainability, and on his 25th birthday, he gifted himself a vasectomy.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/hans-peter
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a choice about how we define and create our families?
Beyond Pronatalism host Nandita Bajaj interviews women and men from diverse backgrounds who are courageously and creatively navigating pronatalism - the powerful pressures to have children - whether from family, friends, or the culture at large. Through intimate conversations, they discuss how they are forging unconventional pathways to fulfillment, including redefining what family means to them - whether that means being childfree or childless, having biological children, adopting or fostering children or animals, or creating close-knit communities of friends and loved ones.
Beyond Pronatalism is brought to you by Population Balance - the only nonprofit organization advancing ecological and reproductive justice by confronting pronatalism.
Visit https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast to subscribe, learn more, and submit your story!
Episodes released every two weeks. Find us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcast platforms.
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