Friday 31st January 2025 – Robin Hadley’s talk: How is a Man Supposed to be a Man? Male Childlessness and Why It Matters

About the talk

In Europe, around 25% of men and 20% of women remain childless, though mainstream discussion focuses on women who have or have not become mothers. The experiences of men who have not become fathers have been minimised, dismissed, and, for the most part, ignored.

Some people are content to remain childless, though people who do not meet the social expectations of parenthood may suffer stereotypical labelling, discrimination, exclusion, isolation, mistrust, and stigmatisation. Infertility research shows that failure to achieve the high social status of parenthood has similar effects on mental and physical health as a diagnosis of a life-threatening disease. The losses surrounding unwanted childlessness include grief, impact on mental and physical health and well-being, social and economic stress, and stigma.

There are wider impacts on society. The UK relies on family members (adult children/partners) to provide the bulk of adult informal care. Many of those ageing without children/family lack obvious sources of support. Older men tend to have smaller social networks, do not access health care, are more likely to be estranged from family than women, and are twice as likely to be found long after death.

In this talk Robin Hadley will examine the wider implications, both personal and societal, of male childlessness. Are childless men the invisible MAWFIOSA: Men Ageing Without Family: Isolated, Ostracized, Stigmatised and Alienated?

About the speaker:

Robin Hadley is an associate lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, his main interests concern male childlessness and ageing across the life course and raising the profile of the ‘known unknown’ population of people aging without children and/or family. His book, ‘How is a Man Supposed to be a Man? Male Childlessness – a Life Course Disrupted’ has won critical acclaim. He has provided evidence of the impact of excluding people ageing without children or family from policy to a range of House of Lords and House of Commons committees, and his briefing document on the need for parity in data collection at birth registration was taken up by several MP’s.

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £5 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before at the venue. Please note that the capacity of the venue is limited, we recommend buying the ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

Times:

Starting at 7:30pm till 9:30pm

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