History Main / NotWantingKidsIsWeird

** This culminated in TheReveal that Anthony had ''lied to her'' in order to convince her to have a child, promising that he would handle the bulk of the responsibility of raising their kid since he wanted one so badly. Anthony freely admitted to Elizabeth that he had no intention of actually keeping his word, as he expected her "motherly instincts" would kick in once the baby popped out. This was presented as a major failing on ''Thérèse's'' part, and as though she was being "unfair" for forcing her husband to keep to his word.

!!Examples

** Joe's parents tampered with Jenny's birth control so Joe would get her pregnant [[IWantGrandkids because they didn't want any kids.]]

* ''Film/TheFiveYearEngagement'' contains a scene where Tom says he doesn't want kids, prompting shocked reactions from his fiancée. She then gets them to babysit her niece in an attempt to show him how great kids are.
* A variation in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''. [[ComicBook/BlackWidow Natasha Romanoff]] is shown to have repressed guilt over being unable to bear children.
-->'''Natasha:''' In the Red Room, where I was trained, [[ChildSoldier where I was raised]]...they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. It makes everything easier. Even killing. ''[beat]'' You still think you're the only [[IAmAMonster monster on the team?]]
* ''Film/BigFan'': Paul's mother tells them that happiness is found in marriage and children, and calls him "sick" for devoting his life to the New York Giants instead of settling down like his brother and sister.
* ''Film/{{Clock}}'': Despite Ella having a happy marriage, successful career, and time to pursue her interests, everyone treats her like there is something wrong with her for not wanting children. Eventually she reached the point where Ella agrees to enter a clinical trial that supposedly will "fix" her "broken" biological clock via meds and a uterine implant.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* In an early draft of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', Bob and Helen are at a barbecue when they hear a woman talking loudly about how she doesn't want to waste her life raising children because she has better things to do. Helen then proceeds to give her a TheReasonYouSuck speech about the importance of motherhood and homemaking. Brad Bird admits that [[AuthorTract he wrote the scene]] because he felt like his wife received a lot of pity and [[RealWomenDontWearDresses criticism]] for choosing to quit her job and be a stay-at-home parent.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Literature/GracelingRealm,'' Katsa has no desire to marry or have children, simply believing the role is not for her. Other characters criticize her opinions, most notably Giddon, who flips out when she refuses to marry him and says that one day she will grow to want children, despite her denial.
* The nonfiction book ''I Can Barely Take Care of Myself'' by Jen Kirkman is all about this. In fact, the intro starts out with arguments people give her when she mentions she doesn't want kids (and gives her counter-arguments).
* In ''Literature/TheRedTent'', Tabea mentions that she wants to be a priestess, rather than to be sold into marriage and used as a BabyFactory or risk DeathByChildbirth. This is because Tabea has seen a lot of the adult drama in her family, and witnessed Oholibamah suffer in childbirth for ''days'' before dying a horrible death. (But the only option open to her besides marriage and motherhood is becoming a priestess.) Because although ''her'' family is not without its problems, it is (at least at this point) much more stable than Tabea's, Dinah can't fathom why she (or anyone else) would want to pass up motherhood (which is placed on a ''very'' [[MotherhoodIsSuperior high pedestal]] in their culture, and especially among the women of Dinah's family.)

* In ''Literature/YouDontOwnMe'', Leigh Ann is sometimes on the receiving end of this, as she's a politician's wife in her late 30s and shows no signs of wanting children. After being asked rather judgemental questions about it in an interview, Leigh Ann got fed up and made it clear her life revolved around her law career and her husband's political career, and she didn't need children to "complete" her. Laurie thought she made a fair point, but predictably she got slated for 'attacking' stay-at-home mothers until she and Daniel did damage control helped their "fur babies". [[spoiler:Her lover Martin couldn't understand her lack of interest in being a mother, either, assuming she'd be thrilled to be a maternal figure to his kids]].

* This becomes a plot point in an episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' in which Elaine is looked down on by her female friends, all of whom are mothers, who feel she needs to "move to Long Island and have a baby already."

* An episode of ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' has Jake and Amy get into an argument (with Cpt Holt and friends operating as official debate moderators) about having children - Amy wants them while Jake doesn't. Despite offering plenty of reasonable arguments, Jake is dismissed by Amy and the moderators as simply being selfish and that Amy has more right to kids because her biological clock will run out before his. Jake eventually concedes the point when he realizes [[IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy how much this means to her]], and [[spoiler: the two eventually have a child, Mack, in the Season 7 finale]].

* A rare male-on-male example: in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Wesley Crusher thinks the reason Captain Picard doesn't have kids is because he's a ChildHater. It's actually because Captain Picard is MarriedToTheJob, although it's definitely true that he has very little idea how to interact with children and is acutely uncomfortable doing so. Over the course of the series, he gets better at it and becomes more comfortable around them, and eventually moves past it much more thoroughly in the canon of the post-series novels. [[spoiler: He also ends up becoming Wesley's stepfather, but he was already his surrogate father-figure starting early in the series.]]
* In ''Series/{{Veep}}'', Amy Brookheimer (a single career woman working for the White House) is criticized by her family for not wanting children.

* In ''Creator/AGnosis''' comics on [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek myth]], this is part of the ParentsAsPeople tension between the MotherNature-esque goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone: Demeter genuinely doesn't believe that Persephone doesn't want to become a mother, and Persephone is afraid to tell her [[spoiler:when she [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion has an abortion]]]]. Fortunately, Persephone's eventual love interest Hades is happy to remain child-free.