The myth of the selfish childfree woman

Dodai wrote a great article on being childfree and not necessarily by choice. Unfortunately, the comments devolved into the usual accusations that all single, childfree women live lives unburdened of responsibility , free go wherever, buy whatever and do whatever they want. You know, kind of like Zooey Dechannel in that cotton commercial. I'd like that life. Oh wait, I am that childless woman in her thirties in some sort of suspended adolescence. Something must have happened on the way, something called ADULT RESPONSIBILITY that, by the way, usually does happen with or without a kid.

This comment in particular irked me:

"'no one ever said to me, “Thank you. Thank you for giving the biggest possible gift to the planet by not having a child' 

Yeah, those 940 Saturdays you slept in, all that discretionary income you spent on yourself and your intact vagina make you seem like much more of a giver than selfish ole me who hasn’t had seven hours of consecutive sleep since Dubya was in office. JAZZ HANDS FOR YOU!"

As someone who's been taking care of people for a good chunk of her life, I really take offense at this. I guess caring for elderly relatives isn't as sanctimonious as motherhood.

And even if hadn't -- even if I didn't have a way to justify myself -- so what? So what if I'm "selfish?" I'm hurting no one except maybe a few antediluvian rules about what women are supposed to be. Oh, and isn't having children because you want to have children a patently selfish act? Nothing wrong with that either.