The childless journey is complex. After grieving not having a child, the childless try to accept and embrace the what is. Childless try to move forward, find Plan B, create a joyful life. We navigate being misunderstood and feelings of isolation. We overcome wobbles and strive to be our best selves, contributing to the world. Through it all, we hope others will acknowledge our pain and our resilience. Because of this, it became apparent that we needed an awareness ribbon. And so, the olive green Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon was created. (Read more about that here.)
Not even a year old, the Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon is already gaining recognition. Here’s what several incredible bloggers, authors, and advocates have to say about the olive green ribbon…
Thoughts from Fiona Tate, Childless Blogger and Warrior
I’m proud to display the Childless Not by Choice ribbon on my website. After a long, hard-fought, battle, my CNBC status is not only a personal statement but a declaration that I stand by a movement. Our voices need to be heard and displaying the ribbon, at the very least, piques curiosity in other people. It helps them to ask us questions, and that allows us to have conversations. The stigma involved in being CNBC will only end when others understand our value as well as we do.
Fiona Tate, Wordcaster and Founder of Countess Drusilla Steele
https://countessdrusillasteele.com/
Thoughts from Jobi Tyson, Childless Advocate and Warrior
For many who are facing childlessness, connecting with other childless women can be a great source of comfort and support. Furthermore, upon discovering the Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon and connecting with Brandi Lytle, I felt an even closer bond to a courageous tribe of women.
Jobi Tyson, Founder of Tutum Global
https://tutumglobal.com/
Thoughts from Lisa Manterfield, Childless Blogger, Author, and Warrior
As long as the childless-not-by-choice community remains in the shadows, we cannot begin to have conversations around the issues we face. Awareness is an important first step towards education, acceptance, and healing.
Lisa Manterfield, Author of Life Without Baby: Surviving and Thriving When Motherhood Doesn’t Happen and Founder of Life Without Baby
http://lifewithoutbaby.com/
Thoughts from Nicci Fletcher, Childless Blogger, Advocate, and Warrior
There are many ribbons to help raise awareness for so many issues and causes in today’s society. It is time that we had a ribbon to raise awareness about the realities of being childless not by choice. To really make changes in people’s attitudes, we need to be doing this in the ‘wider world.’ An awareness ribbon is a great way to do that because it is very visual. This is why I am proud to display the Childless Not By Choice Ribbon on my websites.
Nicci Fletcher, Founder of Canbace Life and Creator of Canbace
https://canbacelife.com/
Thoughts from S.K. Reid, Author and Childless Warrior
I love the idea of the ribbon and have visions of it travelling to all sorts of possibilities.
When people ask if you have kids and you say you do not, people often don’t know where to look or what to say. Mostly, it means little to them.
The ribbon makes me feel connected to others who understand our heartache.
Much of our suffering is unrecognised and goes unnoticed. As a result, we suffer for the most part in silence.
The ribbon allows that silence to be less hurtful for us because it pushes back against it, holding a mirror up to the anyone who does not see us for who we are, in our grief and loss.
The CNBC Awareness Ribbon represents a thread of connection to our sisters, an expression of silent unity in our grief, a solidarity in sisterhood.
The ribbon is a subtle outward expression of our unspoken grief.
It lets us speak our truth.
S.K. Reid, Author of A Year of Medical Thinking
https://www.skreid.com.au/
Thoughts from Tia Gendusa, Infertility Advocate, Non-Mom Blogger and Warrior
Having a tangible symbol that creates awareness and supports positivity in a community that can so easily be swept under the rug is paramount. Having this ribbon unites a movement of women and men that have overcome extensive mental anguish to come to terms with their new normal. We have fought by chance and by circumstance to fit in with societal norms, but have found the outskirts to be more desirable for our lifestyles.
I am thrilled to support a campaign that uniquely identifies us as both valid and worthy.
Thank you, Brandi, for helping bring our amazing lives to the forefront.
Tia Gendusa, Voice for the Non-Mom, providing validation and empowerment for those that choose ChildFree after Infertility
https://www.mstiagendusa.com/
Thoughts from Yvonne John, Childless Author, Advocate, and Warrior
Being childless can be such a silencing and lonely experience. Through telling my story and the work that I am doing, it has been such a privilege to help women to find their voices along this journey. This is why I am so proud to share the Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon. This ribbon represents the beauty, strength, love and resilience that women from the CNBC community all hold within us. This ribbon is a symbol of our ‘shine’ as we walk into our new beginnings.
Yvonne John, Author of Dreaming of a Life Unlived and leading voice on the childless experience of women of colour
https://findingmyplanb.wordpress.com/
Thoughts from Brandi Lytle, Childless Blogger, Advocate, and Warrior
Although I created the Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon, choosing olive green, I want this ribbon to be bigger than me, bigger than Not So Mommy…
Brandi Lytle, Founder of Not So Mommy…
A unifying symbol…
My hope is that the olive green ribbon becomes a unifying symbol for the childless not by choice tribe. No matter where someone is on the journey—struggling through the “in-between” when trying to decide whether to hold on or let go, at the beginning or middle of acceptance, or fully embracing a childless life and able to find the bright sides—I want the ribbon to show solidarity among we childless warriors.
A symbol within and outside our tribe…
But I want the ribbon to be even more than that. Anyone who wants to show support can wear or display awareness ribbons. So, I hope those who love us wear the Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon, in an effort to help raise awareness about our childless journey.
A well-recognized symbol…
And won’t it be amazing when the words “Childless Not By Choice” aren’t even needed above the olive green ribbon?! That incredible day when the olive green ribbon is so well-recognized that all know what it signifies… A strong, resilient, loving group who have overcome grief and sadness in order to live the beautiful what is…
A symbol of the complexities of this journey…
S.K. Reid shared this powerful photo. It poignantly captures the intense grief the childless endure, while putting on a brave face in a world where we feel isolated and misunderstood.
Yet somehow, we courageously claw our way from the pit of despair. We search out the light, redefining, creating a new plan…
To read more about redefining CNBC, click here…
Thank you for supporting the Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon!
Words cannot express how grateful I am that fellow childless, non-mom, and infertility bloggers, authors, and advocates took time from their busy schedules to share words of support for the olive green Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon. Humbled, I read their poignant quotes. Honored, I shared their words with you.
Please, click the links after each warrior’s quote. These ladies have some amazing websites. They contain incredible resources to help you navigate your childless journey, both the struggles and the bright sides…
Our tribe is growing, fabulous ones! We are getting louder and stronger. And I am so grateful to be a part of this empowering movement!
Save, Share, & Display, Fabulous Ones!
Please, save and share the Childless Not By Choice Awareness Ribbon. A beautiful thing about awareness ribbons is that they are not copyrighted. While it is my privilege and honor to have created the olive green ribbon, as I stated earlier, my goal is not for the ribbon to be a symbol of Not So Mommy… Rather, the ribbon should symbolize our childless community in its entirety. So, create your own photo using the ribbon. I’d love to see what it symbolizes for you…
And if you would like to share your own quote about the ribbon, please contact me. I’d be honored to write future blogs, sharing even more thoughts about what the ribbon means to those within our childless community and those who desire to support us on this journey…
If anything written resonates with you, please tell us about it in the comments.
To learn even more about the CNBC Awareness Ribbon, just click here…
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Featured Photo: Created by me using Canva.com
