“My So-Called Selfish Life”- The Filmmaker’s Insider View

In this show Host Suzanne Phillips is joined by Award Winning Filmmaker, Therese Shechter who discusses her new and powerful film, “My So-Called Selfish Life.” Spanning over many years this is a paradigm-shifting journey through one of our society’s greatest taboos: Choosing not to become a mother. The film weaves together historical events, medical expertise, and women of different ages and backgrounds who personally and professionally question the biased expectation that women are supposed to have children – regardless of their personal choice. Underscoring the message, the show includes glimpses of the shocking consequence of a “ 60 Minutes” clip of a woman and her husband sharing their decision not to have children with the in-laws and examples of social media “Mommyjacking” to minimize the accomplishments of professional women and idealizations of mothering at the cost of leaving out and stigmatizing women who can’t have children or choose not to have a child. With attention to historical events, medical advances, gender diversity and political sentiment, Therese Shechter invites us to consider her powerful and at times shocking documentary about women and their choice of whether to have a child. Her film is one that people of all genders need to see and are not likely to forget. Listen in to this discussion.