Black Women As Empty Carriage Women: Will They Ever Be Accepted?

Yes, black women have beautiful brown skin, strong hearts, and are great at multi-tasking. It seems we also enjoy natural hair, the bigger the better. Yet, there is something deeper that connects many black women today. It’s their decision to be childless by choice.

Being childless by choice is a tough decision for many to accept. It is even harder for many to fathom that a black woman who has much to give would consider not giving. Many black women will enter into 2015 highly educated. They will rise to the top of corporations, enter the entrepreneurship rankings with high marks, and, yes, they will be doing all of that, and then some, as empty carriage women.

The Empty Carriage Woman: a strong, loving, kind, unselfish woman who has decided to forgo pushing the baby carriage.

Black women who wear their empty carriage t-shirts under their silk blouses, pencil skirts, and six-inch stilettos, are not taken back by the turning up of the nose by today’s society. Most did not make the decision to be child-free because they neither love children, nor because they feel that they are not what many deem as “parent-material.” In fact, you will find many empty carriage women at baby showers, showing their support for women who have made the decision to have children. So there is no need for name calling and using derogatory words towards empty carriage women such as: selfish, shallow, or even, children-haters.

Despite the common misconception, most empty carriage woman are not unselfish! Oprah Winfrey is a classic example of this. She has been forthright about her desire not to have children, yet, years back, she opened a beautiful school for young females. She gave unselfishly of her time, energy, and love to each of them. Many black women who are empty carriage women spend countless hours helping others. Many go unnoticed, but their work is felt.

Truth be told, black women as empty carriage women, may not come as an easy association to many reading this, however, the fact of the matter is not a new finding. A report posted by the Pew Research Center back in 2010 showed that 24% of women between the ages of 40-44 who held a higher-education degree, had not had children. It also reported that the while white women are more likely to not to have children, the childless rate among black women had risen rapidly over the past decade.

Perhaps the black women’s empty carriage decision is a life-long one. Be cool with that. Maybe it’s one that will only be considered for three to five years. You might compare it to finding that perfect pair of jeans. That perfect pair that worked for years, and then, no longer worked. You didn’t regret having that pair of jeans. They fit at a time in your life when you needed them. Similarly, many black women who have made the empty carriage a way of life do not have regrets; they simply made the decision that wears well for them.

Marian L. Thomas is the award-winning author of the new book: Living The Empty Carriage Way of Life