--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm completely happy not having children…" description: "\"I'm completely happy not having children. I mean, everybody does not have to live in the same way. And as somebody said, 'Everybody with a womb doesn't..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/gloria-steinem-277_childlessness_i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children_1601542.jpg" --- # I'm completely happy not having children. I mean… ![“I'm completely happy not having children. I mean, everybody does not have to live in the same way. And as somebody said, 'Everybody with a womb doesn't have to have a child any more than everybody with vocal cords has to be an opera singer.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/gloria-steinem-277_childlessness_i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children_1601542.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/gloria-steinem-277_childlessness_i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children_1601542.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/gloria-steinem-277_childlessness_i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children_1601542.jpg) > “I'm completely happy not having children. I mean, everybody does not have to live in the same way. And as somebody said, 'Everybody with a womb doesn't have to have a child any more than everybody with vocal cords has to be an opera singer.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing not to have children is a valid personal path, unrelated to inherent abilities. **In simple terms:** Being child‑free is a personal choice. Key Takeaway Respect diverse life choices. Themes family choice identity Mood thoughtful empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal fulfillment - social activism Key Concepts Feminism social norms Questions to Reflect On - How does society view child‑free choices? - What supports can help normalize diverse family structures? A Different Perspective Societal pressure may still stigmatize child‑free individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlessness/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Having children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-children/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Opera singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera-singer/) [Opera singers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera-singers/) [Singers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singers/) [Womb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/womb/) ## Related quotes > [Fiction happens in the womb. It doesn't get processed in the mind until you do the editing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/fiction-happens-in-the-womb-it-doesn-t-get-processed-in-the-mind/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“I write for the child in everybody,that part of us that is aware and open and courageous. It's also that part of us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle-2/i-write-for-the-child-in-everybody-that-part-of-us-that-is-aware-and/) Madeleine L’Engle > [You will say that everyone has seen landscapes and figures from childhood on. The question is: Has everybody also been reflexive as a child?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/you-will-say-that-everyone-has-seen-landscapes-and-figures-from/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I was incredibly different as a child from everybody else. But really, I was just who I was. I was born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-doughty/i-was-incredibly-different-as-a-child-from-everybody-else-but-really/) [Mike Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-doughty/) > [The educator should do anything but advise the child to do what everybody does. He should rather rejoice when he sees in the child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/the-educator-should-do-anything-but-advise-the-child-to-do-what/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [There have been times when I wanted children and other times I've been grateful not to have them. I am a mess if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/there-have-been-times-when-i-wanted-children-and-other-times-i-ve/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [“...it is plain that the proportion of celibates was high in the Roman empire and that the fall in the fertility of marriages was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-power/it-is-plain-that-the-proportion-of-celibates-was-high-in-the-roman/) [Eileen Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-power/) > [“There were a lot of these middle-aged single types in the neighborhood, shipwrecked by every kind of catastrophe, but she was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/there-were-a-lot-of-these-middle-aged-single-types-in-the/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I would have been a terrible mother because I'm basically a very selfish human being. Not that that has stopped most people going off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-would-have-been-a-terrible-mother-because-i-m-basically-a-very/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [My rational mind knows I am blessed. So many women - some of whom I've interviewed over the years - endure infertility and childlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/my-rational-mind-knows-i-am-blessed-so-many-women-some-of-whom-i-ve/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [“If you like your evening plans you aren't allowed to regret what led you to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/if-you-like-your-evening-plans-you-aren-t-allowed-to-regret-what-led/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [“At the cry of a new born salt is being sprinkle at the wound of a barren woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adejimi/at-the-cry-of-a-new-born-salt-is-being-sprinkle-at-the-wound-of-a/) [peter adejimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adejimi/) > [Childlessness doesn't make people selfish; selfishness makes people selfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/childlessness-doesn-t-make-people-selfish-selfishness-makes-people/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Something about family and trying to relate it to the movie with, 'Oh, if I was to have a child how many kids do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/something-about-family-and-trying-to-relate-it-to-the-movie-with-oh/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [“The judge took into account “the profound despair of a woman unable to give life…” As if a man couldn’t be as deeply affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zidrou/the-judge-took-into-account-the-profound-despair-of-a-woman-unable-to/) Zidrou ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Childlessness quotes > [“The judge took into account “the profound despair of a woman unable to give life…” As if a man couldn’t be as deeply affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zidrou/the-judge-took-into-account-the-profound-despair-of-a-woman-unable-to/) Zidrou > [Something about family and trying to relate it to the movie with, 'Oh, if I was to have a child how many kids do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/something-about-family-and-trying-to-relate-it-to-the-movie-with-oh/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [Childlessness doesn't make people selfish; selfishness makes people selfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/childlessness-doesn-t-make-people-selfish-selfishness-makes-people/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“At the cry of a new born salt is being sprinkle at the wound of a barren woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adejimi/at-the-cry-of-a-new-born-salt-is-being-sprinkle-at-the-wound-of-a/) [peter adejimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adejimi/) > [“If you like your evening plans you aren't allowed to regret what led you to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/if-you-like-your-evening-plans-you-aren-t-allowed-to-regret-what-led/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [My rational mind knows I am blessed. So many women - some of whom I've interviewed over the years - endure infertility and childlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/my-rational-mind-knows-i-am-blessed-so-many-women-some-of-whom-i-ve/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [I would have been a terrible mother because I'm basically a very selfish human being. Not that that has stopped most people going off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-would-have-been-a-terrible-mother-because-i-m-basically-a-very/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [“There were a lot of these middle-aged single types in the neighborhood, shipwrecked by every kind of catastrophe, but she was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/there-were-a-lot-of-these-middle-aged-single-types-in-the/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“...it is plain that the proportion of celibates was high in the Roman empire and that the fall in the fertility of marriages was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-power/it-is-plain-that-the-proportion-of-celibates-was-high-in-the-roman/) [Eileen Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-power/) > [There have been times when I wanted children and other times I've been grateful not to have them. I am a mess if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/there-have-been-times-when-i-wanted-children-and-other-times-i-ve/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [I'm not that big a fan of marriage as an institution, and I don't know why women need to have children to be seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-tomei/i-m-not-that-big-a-fan-of-marriage-as-an-institution-and-i-don-t-know/) [Marisa Tomei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-tomei/) > [Honestly, we'd probably be great parents. But it's a human being, and unless you think you have excellent skills and have a drive or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/honestly-we-d-probably-be-great-parents-but-it-s-a-human-being-and/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [There is simply no dignified way for a woman to live alone. Oh, she can get along financially perhaps (though not nearly as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/there-is-simply-no-dignified-way-for-a-woman-to-live-alone-oh-she-can/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [If any value is deeply evolutionarily familiar, it is reproductive success. If any value is truly unnatural, if there is one thing that humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoshi-kanazawa/if-any-value-is-deeply-evolutionarily-familiar-it-is-reproductive/) [Satoshi Kanazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoshi-kanazawa/) > [In accordance with my conception of life, I have chosen not to bring children into the world. A coin is examined, and only after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wessel-zapffe/in-accordance-with-my-conception-of-life-i-have-chosen-not-to-bring/) [Peter Wessel Zapffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wessel-zapffe/) [Browse all 29 Childlessness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlessness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm completely happy not having children. I mean, everybody does not have to live in the same way. And as somebody said, 'Everybody with a womb doesn't have to have a child any more than everybody with vocal cords has to be an opera singer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children-i-mean-everybody-does-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childlessness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children-i-mean-everybody-does-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/gloria-steinem-277_childlessness_i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children_1601542.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/gloria-steinem-277_childlessness_i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children_1601542.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/gloria-steinem-277_childlessness_i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children_1601542.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm completely happy not having children. I mean, everybody does not have to live in the same way. And as…” — Gloria Steinem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm completely happy not having children....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children-i-mean-everybody-does-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-completely-happy-not-having-children-i-mean-everybody-does-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```