Is Childlessness an 'Intersectional' issue?
Event details
Part of: Storyhouse Childless
Is childlessness – in all its forms – an ‘intersectional’ issue? In short… yes! Pronatalism may be ‘the biggest diversity issue that has not been named’ (Jody Day, Storyhouse Childless 2023) in our family-centric society, but how is this compounded for childless and childfree communities who also encounter other inequalities? How does pronatalism shape ideas and experiences of race, religion, gender variance, or sexuality? How can personal stories challenge cultures and ideas that create further marginalisation and stigma for childless and childfree communities?
Join Dawn Llewellyn in an honest and revealing conversation with Kate Hutchinson, Yvonne John, and Hafsa Qureshi as they share their experiences of the many different – and often unspoken – dimensions of pronatalism and childlessness.
This event is for people who are Childless and Childfree and their supporters.
If you have any access needs for example noise sensitivity, mobility or if there is any other support you need, please add yourself to the access register here. We will get in touch with you before the event to chat about we can support you to have the best experience of the discussions group events.
This event may feature strong language, mention of abortion, trauma, pregnancy, miscarriage, and suicidal ideation. Please look out for yourself and others and please remember you can come and go from any event.
There will be a short comfort break followed by a closing panel to wrap up the day including some of the open mic performances from the weekend.
Individual Ticket: £5-£12 Pay What You Can.
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About the Panel
Dr Dawn Llewellyn (she/her) is Associate Professor of Religion and Gender at the University of Chester and she’s been researching, publishing, and speaking publicly about pronatalism for over 13 years. She is childfree/childless by choice/not a parent/no kids and, like most people, has a problem with labels. Dawn was part of the team that founded Storyhouse Childless.
Kate Hutchinson (she/her) is a trustee of Pride Cymru, and an education manager for the LGBTQ+ anti bullying charity Diversity Role Models. Kate re-transitioned in 2012 and since then has campaigned to ensure that all young people are represented and included in education, and has advised local authorities and teaching unions across the country. Kate has been included in Wales’ Online annual ‘Pinc List’ since 2018, and in 2024 she was named ‘Welsh Activist of the Year’ at the ‘Trans in the City’ awards. Kate is childless by circumstance.
Yvonne John (she/her) is the author of ‘Dreaming of a Life Unlived: Intimate Stories and Portraits of Women Without Children’ (2016). As a public speaker, Yvonne has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes, including, BBC Radio 4 ‘Woman’s Hour’ and the BBC documentary ‘Myleene, Miscarriage, and Me’ sharing her recovery from the devastating grief of involuntary childlessness. Yvonne is passionate about creating an inclusive space for black women and women of colour to openly talk about their childless journey. Yvonne has featured regularly at Storyhouse Childless, including a keynote at our inaugural event, on intersectionality.
Hafsa Qureshi (any pronouns) is a UK based queerjabi, international activist, writer and public speaker from Birmingham. Muslim, childfree, and openly bisexual and genderqueer, Hafsa has featured in numerous television and media outlets (including VICE, Sky News, Channel 4, Metro, BBC News, Pink News) and currently works with LGBTQ+ charities. Hafsa says, ‘I speak on topics such as race, disability, queerness and marginalisation. People like me are your family, friends, your work colleagues. We’re an entire community, still being told that we don’t exist. I’m living proof that we do, and our voices should be heard.’