You know I have been dropping hints about something very special for the childfree. It’s time to share the secret. You have the opportunity to nominate someone for International Childfree Woman and Man of the Year. Isn’t this exiting?
On August 1, 1973, the non-profit organization, National Organization for Non-Parents (NON), celebrated Non-Parents Day by awarding a Female and Male National Non-Parent of the Year. Later known as the National Alliance for Optional Parenthood (NAOP), it existed from 1972-1982 with a mission to “educate the public on non-parenthood as a valid lifestyle option.”
40 years later, childfree writers and bloggers Laura Carroll, Patricia and Eric Pedraza-Nafziger, Amy and Lance Blackstone and I think it’s high time to resurrect this “Day,” now calling it International Childfree Day!
Today we’d like to announce August 1st as International Childfree Day, and begin the call for nominations for the 2013 Childfree Woman and Man of the Year!
Here are the details:
Rules for Nominees:
1. They are decidedly childfree – they have no children by choice.
2. They are childfree people nominators know or are acquainted with personally or professionally.
3. Self-nominations are also accepted.
How to Nominate:
Step 1
In less than 500 words, please answer these questions about your nominee:
1. What about your nominee as a person makes him/her a candidate for Childfree Woman/Man of the Year?
2. What about your nominee’s life makes him/her a candidate for Childfree Woman/ Man of the Year? For example, what accomplishments, contributions to others or the world are exemplary to award him/her Childfree Woman/Man of the Year?
3. How would you say your nominee has contributed to the acceptance of the childfree choice in society today?
Step 2
Email your answers, along with your nominee’s email address to confessionsofachildfreewoman@gmail.com.
Winner Selection:
Deadline for nomination submissions is July 15th.
The panel that will collect nominations and select the winners includes:
Laura Carroll-She is the author of The Baby Matrix: Why Freeing Our Minds From Outmoded Thinking About Parenthood & Reproduction Will Create a Better World and the internationally acclaimed Families of Two: Interviews with Happily Married Couples Without Children by Choice. An expert on the childfree choice, for over the last decade she has tracked and researched the childfree choice, has run the top blog, La Vie Childfree, and has been featured on major media, including The Early Show, Good Morning America, national radio, international print and digital media. Find Laura at: http://lauracarroll.com.
Marcia Drut-Davis: She is a retired ESL teacher and childfreedom pioneer. In 1973, she worked with Ellen Peck, founder of the National Organization for Non-Parents (NON), on the first Non-Parents Convention, and was President of the Long Island Chapter of NON for three years. In 1974, her interview on 60 Minutes about her childfree choice resulted in job loss, picketing and even death threats. At age 70, she authored her memoir, Confessions of a Childless Woman: A Life Spent Swimming Against the Mainstream. She remains a fierce opponent of pronatalism and supporter of those choosing childfreedom. Find Marcia at https://www.childfreereflections.com.
Laura Scott is the author of Two is Enough. Her amusing and introspective narrative of the “Childless by Choice Project” tackles this question and more, revealing the process, the assumptions, the rationales, and the lifestyles of couples who have come to the conclusion that forever, or for now, “matching pairs beat a full house.”
Patricia Pedraza-Nafziger is an IT Professional in a fortune 50 aerospace company, an author, columnist, and childfree advocate for individuals who have made the choice not to procreate. She is the lead author of Being Fruitful Without Multiplying: Stories and Essays From around the World, and the Married No Kids Contributing Editor for BellaOnline – The Voice of Women.
Eric Nafziger works in Real Estate, Property Management, and Marketing, is an avid golfer, dog lover, and childfree guy. Eric collaborates ideas with Patricia on childfree articles for the Married No Kids site.
Married 27 years, with no kids, Eric and Patricia understand what it is like first hand to live a childfree lifestyle.
Amy Blackstone: She is a sociologist whose areas of expertise include childfree families, research methods, and workplace experiences. Amy is Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Maine. Amy has presented and published her work in a variety of venues, both popular and academic.
Lance Blackstone : His day job involves software consulting and wishing he didn’t have a day job. Lance is a tropical fish and scuba enthusiast and he blogs and guest blogs on being childfree from a guy’s perspective.
Amy and Lance have been married for over 18 years and are happily childfree. Together, they run the childfree blog we’re {not} having a baby.
Hi Marcia! Add Laura Scott, author of Two is Enough, to the list of authors donating their book to the winners! ~L