Rejecting The Mommy Mandate: “our Culture Made Motherhood Feel So Inevitable”

(Credit: Getty/lzf) In a culture that glorifies motherhood and obsesses over baby bumps, from Kate Middleton’s to whether Khloé Kardashian looks “visibly pregnant,” filmmaker Therese Shechter wants to explore a different kind of life: the child-free one. The director of documentaries “How to Lose Your Virginity” and “I Was a Teenage Feminist” is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund her next movie, “My So-Called Selfish Life,” billed as a “film about not having kids in a culture where motherhood feels mandatory.” The trailer features women of varying ages who are sure they don’t want to become mothers, but have had to carve out that role within their families and communities, who vie to get their tubes tied and to be valued for their professional accomplishments.