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‘Are You a Real Woman?’: Stigma and the Childfree Indian Woman

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  • Meera Suresh Babu

Abstract

India, a highly pronatalist country, places motherhood as a core element in defining women. Therefore, it is in this context that the choice of more and more women to be childfree needs to be analysed. This study attempted to explore the stigma and social exclusion faced by childfree women at home and in social settings. The qualitative methodology involving narrative enquiry was used to conduct in-depth interviews of 10 childfree women in India. It was found that stigma ranges from a very subtle manner of questioning to exclusion from certain domains, which often leads to self-regulated exclusion. Studies on the childfree community in India are only just emerging and are limited to the reasons behind childfree choices, while the current study extends to reveal the consequences of the childfree choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Meera Suresh Babu, 2024. "‘Are You a Real Woman?’: Stigma and the Childfree Indian Woman," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 31(3), pages 287-307, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:indgen:v:31:y:2024:i:3:p:287-307
    DOI: 10.1177/09715215241262134
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Prem Shankar Mishra & Karthick Veerapandian & Prashant Kumar Choudhary, 2021. "Impact of socio-economic inequity in access to maternal health benefits in India: Evidence from Janani Suraksha Yojana using NFHS data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Beth Turnbull & Melissa L Graham & Ann R Taket, 2016. "Social Exclusion of Australian Childless Women in Their Reproductive Years," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(1), pages 102-115.
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