The insignificance of the 6th 'C' in adulthood: insights into the voluntarily childfree lifestyle from a Singaporean male perspective

Abstract

In Singapore, declining birth rates are challenging dominant pronatalist discourses. Diverging life trajectories and changing concepts of family have led to more people remaining childfree, however, literature documenting this childfree phenomenon from a male perspective remains scarce. This paper examines the narratives of heterosexual married Singaporean men in monogamous relationships who choose to not have children, with a focus on their reasoning and decision-making process. Ten participants, recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Contextual factors such as childbearing age, personal values and beliefs and lack of motivations were found to shape childbearing intentions. Social expectations and level of acceptance related to childbearing also differed based on the social groups participants interacted with while the gendered roles of parenthood affected the experiences of participants. This paper contributes to existing literature revolving around childfree men by providing insights into their decision making process and narratives.