"Single Women and No Kids" – A Blog and Much More for SWaNKs and the Global SWaNK Community.
31 Aug 2013 Leave a comment
in Freedom, Independence, Lifestyle, marriage
I’ve got way too much to say about this topic.
More later while I gather my endless thoughts.
No, I’m not jaded. Really, I’m not. I just have an outlook that is uncommon.
2019 Update: I think I’d like to be married one day. I have the right to change my mind! And so do you : )
04 Jul 2013 Leave a comment
in Celebrations, Discrimination, Freedom, Government, Holidays, Human Rights, Independence, Lifestyle Tags: constitution, declaration of independence, discrimination, feminism, fourth of July, freedom, governmnet, human rights, humankind, independence, independence day, judgement, mainstream ideals, society, swank, values, womens lib
Happy Independence Day to all SWaNKs and SWaNK supporters in the U.S.A. This is a day for us to celebrate not just our country’s independence, but our own independence as well. Here’s to being independent.
Today is July 4th, a day that most Americans are out at parades and festivals, picnicking in parks, barbequing, watching fireworks, hanging out with friends and family and celebrating the day that marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence which officially declared the separation of the country from the Kingdom of Great Britain back in 1776. For some people, it’s merely a day to celebrate a day off of work and for other’s it’s a party.
I wondered this morning what it would be like to write up a Declaration of Independence for women around the world and thought that perhaps I would give it a try by starting with a quick edit of the other Declaration of Independence and then add a few items here and there. Here are some excerpts and additions from the SWaNK Evolution Declaration of Independence.
Excerpt #1:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men HUMANS are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHAT WE DO WITH OUR BODIES, that among these are Life, CHOICE, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness WITH OR WITHOUT BEING MARRIED OR HAVING CHILDREN.
Excerpt #2:
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress OUR DRESSES AND PUT ON SOME PANTS in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury (STOP THE ABUSE). A Prince (WHO ARE THEY CALLING A PRINCE?) whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Excerpt #3:
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British ANYONE WHO BELIEVES WOMEN ARE NOT EQUAL TO MEN brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. BEAUTY, BRAINS, INNER WISDOM, COMPASSION, ABILITY TO NURTURE, CAPABILITIES, AND ENDLESS OTHER QUALITIES THAT ARE BENEFICIAL TO HUMANKIND.
Additions:
The Rights of All Humankind:
– To have the freedom to choose marriage or not without being judged by others
– To have the freedom to choose parenthood or not without being judged by others
– To have the freedom to choose a career or not without being judged by others
– To have the freedom to choose to cook or not without being judged by others
– To have the freedom to choose to clean or not without being judged by others
– To have the freedom to wear pants (or panties for that matter) or not without being judged by others
– To have the freedom to speak our minds or not without being judged by others
– To have the freedom to be 100% WHO WE ARE without being judged by others
Happy Independence Day EVERYONE!
07 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Lifestyle, Mainstream Society, Uncategorized Tags: feminism, judgement, society, swank, womens lib
Today’s modern woman, and in particular SWaNKs, tend to be more educated than they were ten, twenty and most certainly a hundred years ago. The culture around women has evolved in ways unimaginable by the burly caveman who dragged his female counterpart by the hair into the cave for some procreating.
Even “Women’s Lib” is a term that sounds almost archaic now and feminism has taken on many other layers that go much deeper than women just having a voice in the home, workplace and in politics.
Independent, educated, career-minded women are blending in more and more as part of mainstream society, yet we really are not part of the majority. At least not yet. We walk around unnoticed in a sea of people out there in the world. At first glance one would not know whether a woman is single or whether she has children or not, unless her children are with her. However, even if she is seen with children one would not know if they were her children or not. It requires a bit of conversation to determine whether or not a woman is actually single and without children of her own. So, in that sense, we are seamlessly blending in with the “crowd”. We slither around mainstream society until people find us out by asking us those telling questions that eventually bring the truth out about our singleness and childlessness. There is nothing external that gives us away. We are all shapes and a sizes. We are all of different races, cultures and religious backgrounds. Nobody will ever know unless they ask.
But what happens when people do find out that we are single and have no kids especially when we are “older” women? What is swirling around in the heads of the curious. And curious they are. There is no doubt in my mind that questions arise in the minds of those who have been trained to believe that in order to live a full life one must get married and have children.
But, I must say that living in an urban environment like the San Francisco Bay Area, that there seems to be a lot more understanding of career-women, many of whom have chosen to be single, childfree and focused on their careers. I, for one, have enjoyed giving “birth” to so many other things that don’t require diaper changing and constant worry about how well it is doing in school, like creating my artwork, creating entrepreneurial ventures and producing a new event and even creating this seedling of a social movement. The process around creating something and nurturing something doesn’t necessarily have to include a uterus.
I am thankful that women have forged their way in industrialized societies over the centuries and look forward to the day when we can all truly be proud to be SWaNKs and confident that when others learn that we are single and without children that we are not being judged or silently criticized. My hope is that one day all lifestyles can be celebrated.
02 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Arguments, Lifestyle, Mainstream Society, Oprah Tags: lifestyle, mainstream ideals, Oprah, swank, values
So said an individual whom I was having a conversation with – or rather – an argument with. Oh, wait a minute…it was more like a lecture I was getting from this person. I wasn’t really involved in the conversation at all until the end. I was just the subject of the it. Or rather, the subject of the conversation or lecture was “Why I wasn’t married yet and why I didn’t want to have kids”. I believe I was about 35 years old at the time. I was so taken aback by the attitude of this person and the thought that I wasn’t doing what was “right” in the minds of mainstream society. Near the end of the lecture, I had a chance to “defend” myself, and I was almost in tears from the forcefulness of what began to feel like accusations. My accuser, in the end, resolved to the fact that his opinion wasn’t going to change how I felt, softened up a bit and summed it all up by saying, “I guess I can see how you could want the Oprah kind of lifestyle”. Since then I haven’t heard any remarks from him about my un-married status and my childlessness.
SWaNK Evolution 