Childfree (from English childfree, free of children): the ideology of conscious abandonment of children
Photo: Shutterstock.
PROHIBITED AND NOT ALLOWED
“It’s a pity your parents aren’t childless” is what modern young people call them. In everyday language this translates as “it would be better if such a useless person like you didn’t exist in the world.” Absolute victory in the category “The most ingenious blow to pride.”
If you haven’t heard this terrible word before, we’ll explain it to you: childfree is the ideology of consciously abandoning children. Can you feel how dark that sounds?
The Justice Ministry is also seriously concerned about the situation without children. The department is already preparing a bill that would ban the propaganda of this ideology in Russia. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Ministry of Justice Vsevolod Vukolov at an international legal forum. The official noted that this ideology has an extremist orientation.
The childless subculture began to spread across the globe from Western European countries. Many young women deliberately refuse to have children, believing that this is a restriction of their freedom.
– Unfortunately, the childless ideology exists in Russia as well. And something really needs to be done about it,” Irina Volynets, founder of the national committee of parents and commissioner for children’s rights of the Republic of Tatarstan, expressed her concerns on Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda (radiokp.ru). – But we must reassure everyone: those who refused to have children will not be punished. We are talking about ideology, about implanting this subculture in the minds of our people and our youth. All these influences of the so-called civilized world lead to the fact that many representatives of the younger generation deliberately refuse to have children.
Volynets cited alarming statistics: almost 25% of young women who want to have children are unable to do so.
– The number of infertile couples is increasing. And the number of those who ideologically do not want to have children is increasing. All of this leads to a decrease in the birth rate. Therefore, those who deliberately spread this ideology must be held accountable. This is exactly what the Ministry of Justice is talking about. And we are in favour of adopting these new rules,” said Irina Volynets.
The childless subculture began to spread across the globe from Western European countries. Many young women deliberately refuse to have children.
Photo: Shutterstock.
“IN THE INTEREST OF THE CITIZENS”
On the one hand, everything is clear: the country has a really low birth rate, it needs to be increased, and no one disputes that. But isn’t it too harsh to equate childlessness with extremism? In our country, for calling for extremism you can get a five-year prison sentence, and for organizing an extremist community – ten. Yes, no one walks around the streets of Russia with banners saying “No to children!” Is the danger as great as the Ministry of Justice makes it seem?
– The childless ideology is spreading on social networks. There are special groups, many of them. And they say that family and children are bad, this is a lack of freedom and, as they write there, a lack of a full life. This is a rather mild but effective effect. Therefore, like LGBT*, we do not intend to persecute those who are members of these communities. But propaganda will be prohibited. And this is the normal position of the state, which is now making great efforts to solve the demographic problem,” Volynets said.
And what will be the punishment? The Ministry of Justice has not yet announced its position. So for now we can only guess.
– I don’t think that everyone will be put behind bars at once. We are talking, first of all, about administrative liability (i.e. a fine – Ed.). And if the law is violated several times, perhaps the possibility of criminal liability will be considered, – noted Irina Volynets. – But I am more than sure that after the adoption of the law, most of the ignorant coaches who call for living on their own will go with the flow. In addition to convincing their audience to abandon children, they also teach how to get a divorce quickly and correctly, how to abandon elderly parents… All these are links in the same chain. They tell you: you don’t owe anything to anyone – not to your grandparents, not to your parents, not to your country. Probably, for a certain period of time it will be convenient and comfortable to live like this, and then, at the end of your life, you will have no one to give you water. And who can you complain to when you are already over 40, you would like to hear the voices of children at home, but your biological clock no longer allows you to have children? Therefore, such a law is adopted primarily in the interest of our citizens.
Childless ideology spreads on social media
Photo: Shutterstock.
ANOTHER OPINION
better give me money
Experts in the field of demography are quite skeptical about these bans. In their opinion, it is not necessary to ban children’s freedom, which is ineffective, but to instil another ideology: the ideology of the family. And to do this, for example, encourage bloggers with many children to talk about life with children.
– There is currently a general tendency in the world towards a decline in the birth rate. Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries were the first to adopt the model of small families. If we take European standards, then our total fertility rate (how many children an average resident of a country gives birth to) is 1.4, slightly higher than in Germany and Austria and approximately at the level of Great Britain,” demographer Vladimir Timakov told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
According to him, the “child-free” or “family-free” trend is developing especially actively in Japan and South Korea. There, people even get electronic life partners. There are many similar videos on the Internet about a happy life with an electronic girlfriend or boyfriend. No quarrels, family conflicts, or capricious children distract you from important matters. A positive interaction! Both sad and funny.
According to Vladimir Timakov, it is unlikely that it will be possible to put an obstacle to the flow of childless children. But families need to be motivated with rubles to have more children. Demographers have long been saying that it is very important to increase the amount of maternity capital for the second and third child (now the main payments go to the first). In his opinion, this is much more effective than all kinds of bans.
ONLY NUMBERS
– 27% of Russians have one child, 34% have two children and 9% have three. Only 5% have four or more children.
– 25% of Russians are childless; since 2014, the proportion of such citizens has increased by 4%.
– 62% of women gave birth to their first child before the age of 28.
– 96% of Russians believe that a stable source of income is a necessary condition for having a child.
– 28% of Russians condemn people who do not want to have children. 63% – without conviction.
– 86% of Russians agree with the statement that spouses should have children, 12% disagree.
– 48% of women between 18 and 45 years old do not plan to have a child in the next five years.
– 7% of Russian women of childbearing age do not want to have children.
According to VTsIOM, Rosstat, Gedeon Richter and the Public Opinion Foundation.
SAID!
Member of the State Duma Security Committee Biysultan Khamzaev:
“In the Year of the Family, it is necessary to draw up legislative decisions on banning the dissemination of any information that discredits family values and calls for the rejection of motherhood. Multi-level organizations may at first glance seem like an unstructured movement, but in reality they are unified mechanisms with great influence that do not appear out of nowhere and operate on subsidies. These organizations shape public opinion and aggressively convince people that they do not need to have children for the sake of their personal freedom. Although this is not freedom, but degradation of personality. This goes against our values and is true extremism.”
Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Affairs, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood, Priest Fyodor Lukyanov:
“These movements are united by hatred of the family, of parents, of children, as well as by the propaganda of sexual depravity. Satanic groups promote hatred of children and the superiority of a childless lifestyle. Because it is contrary to the laws of God. The commandment is: be fruitful and multiply.”
Journalist and TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak:
“When I was in my early 20s, all I was interested in was work: attending events, meeting new people. And motherhood was somewhere far away then and it wasn’t about me. I was an active, child-free person and I didn’t call my children anything other than “bastards.” And I wouldn’t change my mind if I were 25 again. Everything came at the right time, at the right age, with the right understanding of myself. Build a career, achieve self-realization and give birth when you’re ready. I became a mother at 35. Now I can say that there is nothing cooler.”
Member of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, Eva Merkacheva:
“This (equating children’s freedom with extremism – Ed.) is radicalization. I think that such proposals made by fanatics are very dangerous. We need to cool them down somehow. Maybe this is their way of trying to become media figures. But it is dangerous. Everything requires a systematic approach. A person must learn to choose for himself what corresponds to his inner values.”
JOKES ON THE TOPIC
My wife and I decided not to have children. Our children took this news quite hard.
Childless children derail their lives, depriving themselves of life’s greatest happiness: the opportunity to fight on their parents’ chat.
Representatives of the children’s movement in Russia will be banned from reproducing.
*A banned organization in the Russian Federation, recognized as extremist.
