WAYMENT! Why Are We Attacking Childless Women?

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to endorse any political candidate. It aims to provide a balanced analysis of recent political discourse surrounding parenthood and leadership.

There has been an emerging narrative in the political sphere that attempts to draw a direct line between parenthood and leadership effectiveness in recent weeks. A narrow and potentially harmful viewpoint is reflected in this rhetoric, rather than an age-old debate. By scrutinizing these statements and their implications, we can better understand the diverse paths to leadership and the dangers of exclusionary thinking in politics.

While introducing President Trump at a Flint, Michigan town hall meeting, Gov. Sanders stated that her children keep her humble, implying that Vice President Harris “doesn’t have anything to keep her humble” due to her not having children. This comment echoes a sentiment expressed by J.D. Vance where he referred to women without children as “childless cat ladies.”

As a childless woman myself, I find these disparaging remarks not just troubling, but foolish, careless and deeply offensive. I am very whole, very complete. My life is not incomplete because I don’t have a child of my own and neither are millions of other women.