An Exploration of Liberation-Focused Parenting for the Collective

Content Warning: This piece includes conversation about birthing and parenting. I acknowledge that these topics can be difficult for a range of folks including but not limited to people who want to have children and are having difficulty (for any reason). I also want to note that I am speaking what is true for me now, at this moment. Everything is subject to change, for me, for all of us. 

Reproductive Justice is about the right to bodily autonomy; it’s about liberation. This means the right to have children, to not have children, and to raise children in safe, healthy communities. Included in this is children’s right to be autonomous and to be respected, loved, and cared for. 

In other words, children deserve to not be oppressed because of their age and because of the ways they are dependent on the adults in our lives aren’t we all dependent on others in a number of ways, though?… this is interconnectedness). Let’s get into this and explore what liberation for kids looks like.

*I use the term parenting in a liberal way and see it as a communal role. I’m a doula who doesn’t want to give birth, AND I care deeply about children and our future. I’m also a platonic coparent. We all have an impact on systems, and we are all responsible for making our world a place that honors children’s autonomy and significance.

What Liberation for Kids Means