Thank you to my Facebook friend Flavia for informing me that rock star Shirley Manson of the band Garbage is decidely childfree by choice.
"I just missed that whole baby calling. I feel a lot of women think you're a freak if you feel like that, and maybe I am strange," she laughs, "but I never got that feeling."
"In some ways I wish I had had that urge, because I adore children. What sickens me are the people who have children because they want someone to look after them in their old age, or because they're scared of being lonely, and I don't think that's right, because if you have children, your duty as a parent is to ensure that your child can learn to live without you. And so I feel I can live quite happily with my decision."
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This is my favorite Garbage song:
Want to see what other celebrities are childfree by choice? Check out my list and be sure to let me know if you learn of others so I can be sure to add them!
I don't know if this is related or not, but her character on the Terminator TV series is a very cold, non-maternal machine impersonating the mother of a young girl. She's devoid of any feeling or anything like a maternal instinct and completely fails to understand why the child acts the way that she does.
ReplyDeleteI can't decide if this is just coincidence or some stereotype of childfree women or just good casting.
(Yes, I watched the show. No one else did, apparently.)
She is my hero. Seriously, I love this woman. She also once said that having children is not a cure for selfishness, given that so many CF people are accused of being selfish which is just ridiculous. No one really cares that Shirley Manson didn't have kids because she doesn't need children to make her something, she's just a terrific person in her own right.
ReplyDeleteOne more reason to love this awesome and strong woman!!
ReplyDeleteThat's something people say to me when I say I'm not having children, what about when you're older who will look after you.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's a good enough reason to have children at all, and Shirley is right...you should enable your kids to live independently. If you have any :p
It just so happens a lot of the women I loved already in Hollywood turn out to be childfree.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Garbage song: Cup of Coffee
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zMFrF_pmr4
Hey, you mentioned me, thank you! :D
ReplyDeleteI love that band! Shirley Manson is actually a friend of my uncle's--he helped her design some set pieces for one of her shows once. She's definitely one of those down-to-earth, no-nonsense people that didn't delude herself when it comes to having kids. Not everyone's cut out for it.
ReplyDeleteHow funny that you should post this now... I just recently pulled out the old Garbage CDs for a walk down memory lane. I'd forgotten how much I loved this band in high school. Then I remembered I'd heard or read something somewhere about Shirly being CF and found the exact quote you have here.
ReplyDeleteI also read that she got made fun of quite a bit in her early teen years so she's got a little scarring from that. I'm sure it's mostly faded away by now, given all her success and exotic beauty. But that shit really sticks and can be very damaging to self esteem. Probably another contributor to her being CF. I know it is for me. Kids are 25 times more brutal these days than they were back when they were harrassing me.
My favorite CF comment to the whole "my kids can take care of me when I'm old" crap is "I won't need my kids to take care of me, I'll be able to afford help using all the money I saved by NOT having kids". LOLOLOL!!!!
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