Otherhood - Emma Palmer

Watch Pretish and Emma speak about Otherhood

The other:

That which is distinct from, different from, or opposite to something or oneself.

Othering:

View or treat (a person or group of people) as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself.

There are many ways we can find ourselves as ‘the other’ - perhaps we embody an intersection of ‘othernesses’. Being childless or childfree – for whatever reason - is one of the ways we can find ourselves being less visible compared to those who are parents. Not only that, many of us who are childless and childfree can still be subjected to worn out stereotypes and responses; we’re selfish, cold and uncaring if we’re not a parent (particularly a Mum?) by choice and we illicit pity if we’re not a parent by choice, circumstance, happenstance or loss, whilst often being left to our own devices in an intense grieving process.