African-Caribbean women ageing without children: Does African-Caribbean culture and religious identity shape their experiences?

Abstract

This study examines the cultural, social, and religious contexts of African-Caribbean women ageing without children. Drawing on in-depth biographical interviews with ten African-Caribbean women, the study aimed to develop insight into the experiences of women who were growing older without children. Thematic analysis highlighted the implications of early socialization and the complex intersections between childlessness, cultural and religious identity, and gender. The findings suggest that culture and religious beliefs were key factors in shaping the women’s earlier socialization and views on family life, children, gender and marriage. However, there was variation in the extent to which some women’s earlier socialization was retained into adulthood. Some women let go of earlier beliefs and practices, whereas others chose to keep the ones that they felt were important to them, which often influenced their decisions, choices and pathways regarding having children.

Keywords:

• African-Caribbean women
• childless and ageing without children

Introduction

Despite the growing research examining the contexts in which people without children age, there are few studies that reflect the diversity of ageing childless adults. Studies do not typically include people from Black and minority ethnic groups. Studies remain largely homogenous, focusing predominantly on the experiences of adults from White British and European and North American backgrounds. The studies that do examine childless Black women’s experiences, focus on younger women from various African backgrounds. These studies have shown that in societies where adherence to religious beliefs is expected and is the norm, views on children and childlessness are often influenced by pronatalist ideology (Tabong and Adongo, 2013). Being childless in these societies can result in severe consequences for the childless adult, particularly women (Ibisomi and Mudege, 2014).

To date, there are no published studies that examine the experiences of African-Caribbean women who are ageing without children. Ageing African-Caribbean women living in Britain have their own unique experiences, culture and identity, thus, their lived experiences of ageing without children are likely to differ from White British and European women (Etienne, 2014; Reynolds, 2005). This study examines the impacts of cultural identity and religion on the context and experiences of African-Caribbean women ageing without children.¹ The research engaged ten African-Caribbean women living in the UK (six participants were born in the UK to parents who migrated from the Caribbean; four participants were born in the Caribbean) in in-depth, biographical interviews to explore their experiences of ageing without children.

Thematic analysis (TA) identified key themes that illustrate the connections between women’s contemporary experience and their African-Caribbean heritage. The findings indicated that early life socialization influenced participants’ cultural and religious identity and beliefs on marriage, children and family life. For these women, marriage was viewed as a normative expectation in adulthood and an essential status before having children. Cultural and religious contexts also determined how the women were treated and perceived. For example, some childless African-Caribbean women faced specific disadvantages because they did not conform to the expectations of having children. The findings revealed that some of the participants were stigmatized and assigned negative attributes because they did not conform to these expectations.

This study provides an understanding and insight into areas that we have very limited knowledge of and it bridges the gap between disparate research studies identified in the literature review. Taken together these studies offer a clearer and more robust understanding of African-Caribbean women ageing without children.

Literature review

African-Caribbean context

The term African-Caribbean is used in this paper to describe the group of people whose ancestors were taken from Africa via the transatlantic slave trade to various Caribbean islands between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Other terms used to describe this group include Black, Black Caribbean and Caribbean (Bryon, 1999).

From the literature of the African-Caribbean community, studies have found that some people from this community have a strong sense of cultural and religious identity (Burman, 2002; Levitt, 2001; Reynolds, 2008). Although, the Caribbean community is very ethnically diverse due to being colonized by the UK and other European countries, such as Spain, France and the Netherlands (Cohen, 1998), many Caribbean islands and Caribbean people share some of the same cultural practices and historical experiences (Burton, 2009). African-Caribbean people, in particular those who are directly descended from enslaved Africans, have contributed to the formation of the Caribbean Creole culture. Caribbean Creole culture is reflected in the food, dance, music and customs of this group of people (Crawford, 2004). The Caribbean is religiously diverse; however, Christianity is the main religion practiced throughout the islands. When the British and other Europeans came to the Caribbean they brought their own religious beliefs and practices. For example, the Spanish, Dutch, Irish and French brought Roman Catholicism to the Caribbean, whereas England brought Protestantism (Burton, 2009). Arguably, Christianity, like many religions and faiths, is underpinned by traditional views and practices, in particular the importance of family life, traditional family structures and procreation. Some of these religious views are in line with pronatalist ideas. Pronatalism encourages procreation and having a high number of children; in the African-Caribbean context, pronatalism is linked to religious beliefs and obligations as well as to Caribbean cultural traditions regarding the role of women. For example, motherhood was understood as a woman’s basic mission and profession, and ‘motherliness’ was understood as an innate quality; in addition, marriage between a man and a woman was considered the only union in which to have children (Premdas, 1996). Intolerance of relationships and practices outside traditional religious views are often evidenced in the law and policies of some Caribbean islands; for example, Buggery Law prohibits homosexual relationships regardless of age-based limits (Gaskins, 2013).

When African-Caribbean people migrated to Western countries they often brought many of their cultural and religious norms, traditions and practices with them (e.g., music, language and food) (Chamberlain, 1998). Within this cultural and religious context, motherhood and having children were constructed as natural practices. It is assumed that African-Caribbean women will have multiple children, and they are often portrayed as hypersexual (Reynolds, 2005). Yet, there is little insight in terms of research into how this shapes ageing African-Caribbean women’s decisions and views on motherhood and childbearing and what the implications may be for those who challenge this dominant discourse by not having children.

Pathways to ageing without children

Contemporary research that examines the pathways and contexts to ageing without children tends not to consider cultural and religious identity and their implications in regard to women’s experiences. Rather, it centers on a number of different factors and circumstances over an individual’s life course. For example, caring for older parents, marrying late and being separated from their spouse during war (Allen and Wiles, 2013; Connidis and McMullin, 1996; Wenger, 2001). However, for other adults, ageing without children is the result of circumstances outside their control, such as the loss of a child, infertility, outliving children and/or having to give up a child for adoption (Allen and Wiles, 2013; Wenger, 2001).

In some studies, some older adults were found to be childless because they remained unmarried, because remaining unmarried implied remaining childless (Connidis and McMullin, 1996; Dykstra and Wagner, 2007). Connidis and McMullin’s (1996) study identified the diversity underpinning the term ‘singleness,’ including being single by choice and by circumstances, including being unable to find a suitable partner and/or caring for an ageing relative. Furthermore, the findings indicated that some of the primary reasons for the childlessness of married adults were factors such as age, fate, infertility and a history of genetically transmitted conditions. Women were often blamed for not being able to have children and were considered to be at fault due to their age or experiences of infertility.

Allen and Wiles (2013) developed a knowledge base of the unique contexts of ageing without children from the findings of their study. For some participants, childlessness was an active choice taken to break a cycle of family violence, whereas other participants explained that being childless was as a result of continuous change and social upheaval. Allen and Wiles’ (2013) study also highlighted that participants were unwilling to marry and have children with ‘just anyone.’ Their study showed that the contexts of ageing without children vary; therefore, it is important not to assume that everyone has similar experiences.

Black and childless

The available studies that examine the implications of culture and religion in regard to Black childless women tend to focus on the experiences of younger women from various African countries. In general, this research found that the influence of pronatalist beliefs and traditional gender norms is profound and has a direct impact on the experiences of those who do not have children (Ibisomi and Mudege, 2014; Tabong and Adongo, 2013). Overall, childless women face severe emotional, financial and social consequences and difficulties as a result of being childless, leading to marginalization and invalidation, ridicule, stigmatization and rejection as well as being abandoned and being seen as an outcast (Cornwall, 2001; Dimka and Dein, 2013; Dyer, 2007; Obioma and Manus, 2019; Weinger, 2009).

Furthermore, research has found that a woman’s status in her community and her value are linked to her ability to have children (Larsen, 1995). An earlier study by Boddy (1989) found that in the Sudan being unable to conceive threatens women’s power and the social order, as children are a source of power for women in relation to men. Moreover, having children is deemed to be important in terms of women’s progression through the life stages and in the creation of their identity as they mature. For example, childless women from Tswana in Botswana cannot attain womanhood (Suggs, 1993); this may result in them never being perceived as women or having the respect that comes with reaching womanhood by achieving motherhood (Suggs, 1993).

Religion and childlessness

Research on childlessness and religion shows a strong and continuous link between religiosity and having children, where having children was seen as a religious duty and obligation. For example, Ibisomi and Mudege’s (2014) study of childlessness in Nigeria found that religion was used to justify exerting pressure and forcing couples to have children. Other studies, such as Kaufmann (2009), showed an association between strict religious beliefs and high birth rates in Muslim societies, whereas in Italy, voluntary childlessness tended to be higher among women who were less religious (Tanturri and Mencarini, 2008). Studies have found that many religious groups encourage procreation and traditional family formation (Merz and Liefbroer, 2012; Myers, 2004; Pearce, 2002). For example, adults who attended Christian churches reported that there was more emphasis on getting married and having children and less emphasis on individual autonomy (Mahoney, 2005).

Some studies have found that religion has been used to explain why individuals are childless. For example, Van Rooij et al.’s (2009) study of Turkish immigrants found that many couples believed that having or not having children was the will of Allah. Similarly, Weinger’s (2009, p. 53) study found that some of the childless women from Cameroon believed that since the “Lord didn’t give me children…I had to accept it that way” and that their childless status was “the will of God”. Religious beliefs also influenced some women’s decisions not to seek medical treatment to help them conceive, believing that medical intervention could “work against God’s will” (Weinger, 2009, p. 53). Again, Karaca and Unsal’s (2015) study found that some women believed that their childless status was the result of their previous sins and/or mistakes, which is also seen in studies in other Muslim countries (Fido and Zahid, 2004; Weinger, 2009).

Research rationale

Although these reviewed studies provide an insight into the experiences of individuals ageing without children and childlessness, giving them a voice and recognizing their lived experiences, there are still significant gaps in the research. One of the oversights in this literature is that there are few studies that reflect the diverse ways in which women without children age. Little is known about Black and minority ethnic groups’ pathways and contexts to ageing without children. There is a lack of consideration of the cultural, social and religious contexts of individuals who are ageing without children and whether ageing without children for Black and minority ethnic women adds a potential further layer of disadvantage in older age. African-Caribbean people are one of the longest established non-White ethnic groups living in the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2011); however, we know relatively little about present-day African-Caribbean women and their contexts, including who they are, their identity and their experiences of ageing without children. Therefore this area warrants further attention in the literature and research.

In light of the omissions identified in current knowledge and research, this paper will consider the cultural, social and religious contexts of African-Caribbean women ageing without children. This will ensure that the women’s individual experiences and voices are heard and recognized. It also provides the women with the opportunity to articulate a discourse of ageing without children that positions their cultural, religious and social experiences at the center. As there are no reported studies that examine African-Caribbean women ageing without children, this study will make a novel contribution to the current research in this area. It will also provide a valuable insight into an area we know little about.

Methods

Participants

The inclusion criteria for the research were African-Caribbean women living in the UK, aged 45 and over and who did not have children. I aimed to recruit women who, at the time of the interviews, would have been unlikely to be able to conceive children. The women in the research are typically defined as middle aged and the research explores their experiences as they age without children. In total, I recruited and interviewed ten participants. Table 1 outlines the profile of each of the participants. The majority of the participants’ Caribbean island of origin was Jamaica. This was anticipated as most of the Caribbean population in the United Kingdom is of Jamaican origin (Office of National Statistics, 2011). Six of the participants were born in the United Kingdom to parents who migrated from the Caribbean. Four participants were born in the Caribbean, of whom three migrated to the United Kingdom during childhood and one migrated as an adult. The study included women from professional backgrounds; however, their relationship/marital backgrounds varied. All participants were initially brought up as Christians; however, some participants changed or suspended their religious affiliation when they became adults.

Table 1. Demographic profile of participants.

Participant	Age	Occupation	Caribbean island of origin	Migration	Stated religious affiliation	Relationship status
P1	59	Foster carer recruitment	Jamaica	Born in the UK	Christian	Divorced/in a relationship
P2	56	Social worker	Jamaica	Born in the UK	Christian	In a relationship/co-habiting
P3	66	Older persons support worker	Jamaica	Migrated	Buddhist	Dating
P4	56	Solicitor	Trinidad and Tobago	Migrated	Christian	Married
P5	48	Teacher	Anguilla	Born in the UK	Christian	Single
P6	58	Social worker	Jamaica	Migrated	Non-religious	Single
P7	56	University student support services	St Lucia	Born in UK	Christian	Divorced/single
P8	64	Therapist/counsellor	Jamaica	Migrated	Spiritualist	Dating
P9	54	Social worker	Jamaica	Born in UK	Christian	Single
P10	53	Solicitor	Jamaica/Nevis	Born in the UK	Christian	Single

Participants for the research were recruited via various methods including advertising in a national African-Caribbean newspaper, visiting community and religious settings and snowball sampling. I focused my recruitment efforts mainly on three cities (London, Birmingham and Manchester) and their surrounding areas as they had high numbers of African-Caribbean population. Ethical approval was granted from my university prior to the recruitment of participants and the interviews.

Methods of data analysis

As we have little understanding about African-Caribbean women ageing without children from the ‘inside,’ a qualitative approach which engages African-Caribbean women and encourages them to tell their life stories was one way of gaining this insider perspective (Chambers, 2002). One-to-one interviews were the most appropriate approach as they enable in-depth one-to-one conversations with participants (Mack et al., 2005). Before each interview, participants were asked to read, agree and sign two consent forms. Participants kept one of the signed copies of the consent form. Giving informed consent was based on the participants’ understanding of the information provided to them about the research study.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted over an eight-month period and lasted two and a half hours on average. With permission from the participants, the interviews were audio recorded. I transcribed the audio-recorded interviews myself. Participants’ names and personal details were anonymized.

The interviews were analyzed using Thematic analysis (TA). TA is a form of qualitative analysis that is used to systematically identify, organize, and provide an insight into patterns of meaning (themes) within narrative accounts (Braun and Clarke, 2006). A theme captures the key pattern within narrative accounts in relation to the research questions and represents a level of meaning within narratives (Braun and Clarke, 2006). TA enabled me to explore collective or shared meanings and experiences (Boyatzis, 1998) as well as any differences in the women’s narrative accounts.

Results

The theme ‘Identity’ was identified throughout the women’s biographical narrative accounts and included gender, culture and religious identity and beliefs.

Cultural and religious identity

Analysis showed little distinction in approaches to the participants’ upbringing between those who were born in the Caribbean and those who were born in the UK. In both groups of participants, parents and carers sought to preserve African-Caribbean culture and traditions, which provided a means to preserve cultural identity as well as to convey their beliefs to their children and give them a sense of who they were and from where they originated. There were key similarities expressed by all of the participants as culture and religion involved a core set of beliefs and practices that shaped their earlier life experiences and views around family life and marriage.

As described by all the women, the African-Caribbean community and culture highlighted the centrality of family life. Nine of the participants came from large nuclear families themselves and saw their parents and their siblings getting married and having children. This reinforced the importance of family life, and of marriage as a normative expectation in adulthood and an essential status before having children.

All the women were raised to have strong beliefs about traditional gender roles and a dominant pronatalist orientation. This was evidenced by their view that there was an expectation to get married and to have children. In the African-Caribbean context, pronatalism is linked to religious beliefs and obligations as well as to Caribbean cultural traditions regarding the role of women. For example, the women in the study referenced the Bible’s and Church’s teachings on the importance of being mothers and wives. Motherhood was understood as a woman’s basic mission and profession, and ‘motherliness’ as an innate quality. Participants reflected that, certainly throughout their childhood and young adulthood, they accepted these assumptions as the norm. By having children, African-Caribbean women adhere to their religious obligations and cultural norms, and they are ‘rewarded’ for doing so. African-Caribbean women with children are held in high esteem and respected.

Visible examples of childless African-Caribbean women were rare, though three participants noted that they had aunts who were childless. To prevent potential discrimination or judgment, participants reflected that their ‘childless’ aunts immersed themselves in rearing other people’s children and taking on mothering roles. For these participants, their aunts were seen as useful and important family members who were not stigmatized or excluded because of their childlessness.

All the participants mentioned that throughout their adulthood they faced relentless questioning by members of the African-Caribbean community about their childbearing plans. All of the women found it difficult to keep the reasons or motivations behind their childless status private. Analysis showed that most participants experienced anxiety and worry about telling people that they did not have children due to the risk of negative responses and judgment. They often regretted divulging their status to people. As P2 explained:

If they ask me, then I would tell them. Immediately, I regret telling them I haven’t got children. I say I can’t have children. They say it’s a shame and I say why is it a shame? If you can’t have children you can’t have them. So you think in a way not only have you got people saying it’s a shame that you haven’t got children and people making sarcastic comments that you haven’t got children, but they try to make me feel less than what I am.

The analysis revealed that participants were often stigmatized or felt they were judged negatively as a direct result of being childless. They also felt that they received harsher treatment than childless men in their community. Their experiences included criticism or incorrect judgments and, in some cases, even name calling and being ridiculed as well as being isolated and treated differently from women peers who had children. Most of the women faced these experiences throughout their adult (reproductive) lives; it appeared to steadily increase when they reached their thirties. This is in line with general trends, as there is an expectation that women should have had children at this point in their lives:

It’s like you’re not normal. I have had that several times over and over [crying]. Someone said you don’t like children as you haven’t got any. That’s what people generally think or that I must be a lesbian. (P6)

Collectively, these women shared that they had had periods of anxiety and low mood or depression due to feeling judged and worrying about how people would perceive them. The competing pressures of societal expectations and seeing most other women in the African-Caribbean community with children often made some of these women feel under pressure too. Many of the participants worried that they had let their families and communities down by not having children, which often resulted in feelings of emotional distress and self-blame.

Despite these negative cultural experiences, analysis showed that half of the women participants as older adults persisted in adhering to the cultural and religious beliefs that they felt had judged and labelled them in their ‘childless’ status. This was demonstrated, for example, by church membership and being an active member of a church congregation as well as adhering to behaviors and practices which were associated with religious beliefs.

Culture and religious beliefs also guided these participants in terms of, for example, what kind of men they could marry. In terms of suitability, any man they intended to marry had to be a Christian man who shared their religious conviction and faith. The four single women in the study reflected that they were single because they had not found a suitable marriage partner.

It’s very rare to find someone who is Black and upholds Christian beliefs and traditional ways of living. They don’t want to get married anymore. It’s difficult to find someone of my level and because of that I have struggled to meet someone. (P7)

Finding marriage partners was also restricted by what was considered appropriate behavior for single women and acceptable approaches to ‘dating.’ It would, for example, be seen as unorthodox for a practicing Christian woman to romantically approach a man. Rather, the man in question was expected to make the choice and take the lead in decisions about marriage. Participant P4 described her experiences:

We got married late as I was waiting for the right man to come along and then he did and asked me to marry him. We were both Christian so we waited until marriage. (P4)

Although the participants who had continued to adhere to religious practices and beliefs were clear that this was how they chose to live life, there was a sense that this was not always an easy path to abide by in light of the many changes in behavior and belief they witnessed in other members of the African-Caribbean community. It was evident that these participants were very well aware of the risks associated with waiting for an appropriate man to marry, such as marriage would not happen and therefore children would not arrive.

The other half of the women chose to maintain the traditions and beliefs that they defined as important to them, while letting go of ones that were not. These participants had also tended to move away from their families and preserved few, if any, African-Caribbean ties. Therefore, cultural pressure to adhere to cultural and religious norms was reduced by disassociation. These women were more inclined to socialize with a variety of people and in varied settings. Their traditional beliefs and norms were challenged by people they met throughout their lives and the new ideas presented at university and/or at work. They were more likely to choose their own lifestyles, and ideas about autonomy, choice and agency were very important to them.

Identity construction and changing and letting go of beliefs from childhood was a process that took place gradually. One of the women (P5) realized as a young adult that she did not want to live up to some of the cultural expectations, such as getting married and having children. She never intended to have children. As a young adult she felt that it was not possible to challenge these cultural norms as it could create tension with her parents, family and wider community. However, when she became older she was able to resist the pressures of her family and cultural expectations by distancing herself from the kinds of expectations about women and their role that were commonplace in her community. Despite her parents’ and wider family’s resistance, they learned to accept her decision not to have children:

When I made a decision in my twenties not to have children, I knew I couldn’t tell anyone as it would be frowned upon and it would not be accepted. My parents would be very unhappy with me as it’s not something Caribbean women say often. It was not my intention to have children anyway as I like my freedom. I never had that craving feeling to have a child like one of my sisters did and who went out and got one at 21 [laugh]. I didn’t want that responsibility. But as I got older and moved away, I was able to be me and was free from these expectations. People started to accept me for who I was. Well, it took a while but eventually the questioning and harsh words stopped. (P5)

From the analysis, it is evident that changes in traditional assumptions and practices had been influential in the choices the women made and how they currently lived their lives.

African-Caribbean community mothering

All of the participants reported playing a significant role in caring for family members and also dedicated their time to developing relationships and supporting children in the wider community. Culturally, African-Caribbean women tend to take on this role of caring for older relatives and younger children as it is something that they witnessed growing up and something that they actively were encouraged to do within their culture. For example, all of the women had siblings, and as children they often helped out and looked after them.

All the women had developed relationships and played a role in looking after children, including nephews and nieces, cousins, godchildren, and their friends’ children. The influence of the African-Caribbean culture shaped how some of the women responded to and viewed the children. For instance, from the women’s accounts, motherhood and parenting did not have to be between a biological mother and her child, it could be incorporated by and extended to any person who wanted to take on a caring role. Eight of these women saw themselves as mothers within this concept:

That’s the Caribbean culture in me. Because in the Caribbean I had an adopted sister. She wasn’t officially adopted. I have a cousin; we’re not sure, we think our uncle is his father but my grandmother took him in and raised him as my cousin. Most families in the Caribbean have a child that really didn’t belong to the home, someone down the street or somebody gave them the child due to hardship in the family. In the Caribbean, you can be a parent to a child who is not biologically yours. I think that part of life I miss. But, to some extent, I take it with me. (P4)

From the findings it was evident that for those women who wanted to have a child and who, for whatever reason, did not have a child, looking after children helped. As P4 stated:

We have become godparents. We have three sets now. They come to visit us in summer time and we visit them during Christmas time. I can help others and contribute to other children’s lives by being a godparent. It brings me joy and fills a void of longing to be a mother. (P4)

For eight of the women, playing an active role in children’s lives was a way to ‘fill a void’ and allowed the women to express elements of their perceived gender identity, thus proving themselves as ‘deserving’ of the role of a mother and being a ‘real’ woman. The other two women found joy and fulfilment in their relationships with children, whereby they could help to care for and raise the children and have a positive input in their lives.

In common with other cultural norms, there was an assumption in the African-Caribbean community that children should care for their parents when they are older. Childless women tended to be identified as the most appropriate person to provide care because they did not have the responsibilities of their siblings, who had children. At times, these women felt that they had little choice but to support their parents as no one else was willing to:

It was easier for me to care for my parents as I didn’t have children to look after when I came from work, but still no one really asked me what I thought, or cared that I might have had other commitments. It’s just assumed. (P9)

There was no evidence to suggest that consideration was given to whether these women had other life interests or responsibilities that may prevent them from caring for their parents. It appeared that having children is considered the only ‘worthy’ responsibility to have. As all the women worked, tending to work long hours, supporting parents had an impact on some of the women’s ability to work full time. For example, P5 temporarily gave up her job as a teacher to nurse her dying parents:

My mum had a stroke; my mum had high blood pressure, then as she got older it got higher and higher and then diabetes set in. They said she had a heart attack and a light stroke. So my dad was looking after her. Then he got diagnosed with cancer so he wasn’t able to look after her properly. So I gave up my job and went to move back into the house to look after them both. (P5)

P5 took this opportunity to care for her parents as a way to show them how much she loved them and also to spend the last months with them before they passed away. In her opinion, as a single person who did not have children, she found it easier to leave her job and look after her parents as she did not have many other commitments. This was a theme throughout all the accounts: these women often reduced their hours at work to be able to fulfil their roles supporting their parents.

All the women worked very hard throughout their life course to progress in their education and careers; however, as they were in the later stages of their careers, having worked for over 20 years and in some cases over 30 years, they were not always as invested in their careers and progression as they were when they were younger. Three women reported that if they had had to care for their parents when they were younger and when they were starting out in their careers, then they would not have been as willing and/or in a position to support their parents as they were now. The other participants explained that they would have had to negotiate the support they could offer, getting social care and family input.

Discussion

The main findings identified that there was an expectation that the women should have children as motherhood is seen as a normative quality. The women’s value was defined by having children. Religion and culture reinforced these views on motherhood as there was a strong emphasis on pronationalist ideology and the belief that you can only have children within marriage. Five of the women continued to hold onto these beliefs which shaped their adulthood experiences and pathways to ageing without children. Whilst the other group of women let go of some of these beliefs and practices overtime.

The notion of community mothering provided an opportunity for the women to look after children and older relatives. These roles allowed some of the women to express this aspect of their perceived gender identity. Whereas, for others, they felt obliged to take on these roles due to the assumption that women without children had less commitments and thus, more time to look after those in need.

Gendered pathways

The findings from this research indicate that gender played a fundamental role in shaping the women’s experiences and in this way confirm the findings of other authors whose work has mainly included women from Black African communities (Boddy, 1989; Ibisomi and Mudege, 2014; Larsen, 1995; Suggs, 1993; Tabong and Adongo, 2013; Weinger, 2009). In line with current research, it was reported by the women in this study that they faced more social pressure than men to have children (Cornwall, 2001; Dimka and Dein, 2013; Dyer, 2007; Obioma and Manus, 2019; Weinger, 2009). The findings found that the desire to become a mother was dependent on an individual’s needs as well as their family’s and community’s expectations.

In an African-Caribbean context, motherhood was seen as central to a woman’s gender identity and gendered life course. Parenthood was seen as more important for women’s self-perceptions than for men’s (Simon, 1992), as women experience mothering as something they ‘are,’ whereas men may perceive fathering as something they ‘do’ (Ehrensaft, 1987). It is evident that in an African-Caribbean community, women who marry and become a mother are judged as successful; therefore, as shown in the study, women who have not had children are seen as less successful than woman with children and they are perceived as less than women with children.

Although the women in this research have careers and are well educated and their parents encouraged their daughters to get an education, women’s social and religious successes were viewed to be the most important and ‘trumped,’ at least in younger adulthood, any success in education or subsequent careers. These social and cultural pressures have been proven to put some women at a disadvantage as their entire identities and self-worth were solely based on them having children and getting married.

The implications of culture and religion for the context and experiences of ageing without children

A shared sense of values and belonging were clearly expressed throughout the interviews, as well as the importance of African-Caribbean culture and religious beliefs in understanding the experience of individuals’ pathways and the context to ageing without children. However, a focus on cultural identity and the impact of belonging to a specific cultural group are rarely examined in research on ageing without children. It was impossible, for example, to understand the context of the participants’ experiences without recognizing the impact of their culture and background on their lives.

Despite the differences among the participants in terms of migration and place of birth, there were key similarities expressed by all of them, as their earlier socialization had been shaped by a core set of beliefs and practices. There was an expressed culture, identity and belief system which originated from the Caribbean and was filtered down from generation to generation. This was reflected in fundamental beliefs based on their Christian faith, such as views of family life, marriage and gender roles. Hearing stories about their homeland and Caribbean traditions were an integral part of participants’ earlier experiences, identities and socialization. Crawford (2004, p. 98) stated: “Diasporic identities are produced and reproduced through the collective memory of a group of people.” It is also suggested that cultural bonding takes place through migrants’ accounts (King, 2000; Reynolds, 2008) as well as through people’s memories of the food, music, language, sights and sounds (Premdas, 1996).

The Caribbean culture and religious beliefs that the women related to, had an impact on their lives. In the individual interviews, the participants outlined how reproduction and motherhood were viewed through cultural and religious lenses. Similarly, the research highlighted how religious frameworks impacted on participants’ pathways to ageing without children. The participants utilized such frameworks to inform their understandings of motherhood and procreation and to make sense of their situations. African-Caribbean culture and religious beliefs shaped the ways in which certain practices were viewed as acceptable and permitted. Equally, behaviors and practices that were considered to be unacceptable and disapproved of were also shaped by culture and religion (Ibisomi and Mudege, 2014; Tabong and Adongo, 2013; Weinger, 2009). However, the impact of culture was mediated by other factors within their individual lives such as gender, as discussed above.

All the women were raised to have strong beliefs about traditional gender roles and a dominant pronatalist orientation, which were reinforced by both cultural traditions and religious beliefs. This was evidenced by their view that there was an expectation to get married and to have children. The analysis of the women’s interviews showed that half of the women (five) continued to adhere to these cultural and religious beliefs as older adults. Their earlier life experiences and socialization formed the basis for their identities as adults and they continued to adhere to traditional practices. The analysis revealed that their socialization in relation to their beliefs and practices often made it difficult for the women to ignore their beliefs and practices and let go.

In the interviews with the five participants who adhered to traditional practices and beliefs, they confirmed that their views about marriage and procreation meant that they could only have children within marriage as that was seen as the only acceptable way to have children. Not being able to get married, for whatever reasons, served to restrict the potential for a woman to have children, which was evidenced in the cases of at least half of the participants.

The findings also outlined how cultural and religious beliefs determined how these five women pursued relationships. The women did not feel that they had the autonomy to choose their life partners. This was due to the cultural views in the Christian faith about what was appropriate female behavior. Typically, women would wait for a man to approach them and ask them ‘out.’ This would limit some of the participants’ options as they could not choose the man they wanted. Also, some of the women were waiting for a specific type of man, namely, Christian; when these men were not available or were unwilling to get married, it often meant that the women chose to delay their childbearing plans in the hope that the right man would come along. These findings are supported by Allen and Wiles’ (2013) research that demonstrated that their participants were unwilling to marry and have children with ‘just anyone.’ The findings in my own research confirmed that four of the women did not get married and have children due to not finding the ‘right man.’ Koert and Daniluk (2017) suggested that when women follow beliefs and conditions about having and raising children, if those conditions are not met, they may feel they have no other option but to continue to delay childbearing. In some situations, the women would not deviate from cultural and religious beliefs and/or expectations even if there was a risk that they would not have children in the future.

Some studies have argued that there is an ‘imagined’ and ‘ideal’ moral and bounded cultural identity and community (Anderson, 1983; Atkin and Chattoo, 2007). However, in practice, not all African-Caribbean people willingly follow a moral and bounded cultural identity. For instance, some African-Caribbean people choose not to get married or adhere to traditional gender norms. Changing and shifting cultural identities and views presented in the public domain can be seen as a threat to the African-Caribbean culture and beliefs, in particular in regard to gender roles and family structure. Research, for example, has argued that due to changes in views on marriage, there is a significant number of single parent (mother) households in African-Caribbean families. This has resulted in African-Caribbean people and families being more individualized, which has fragmented the family structure and weakened family ties (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2002).

In contrast to the five participants who adhered to traditional practices and beliefs, the cultural and religious views of the other five women changed and evolved across their life course. They would be considered to be more individualized, as suggested by Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2002). The cultural influences of living in the UK provided some of the women with insights and outlooks that they would not have normally been exposed to if they had remained living in the Caribbean and/or within an environment that was influenced solely by African-Caribbean culture and religious beliefs.

The narratives from these participants demonstrated that some of their views on their cultural identity were not based on being Caribbean and Christian per se, but varied at different times and at different points throughout their life course. When some of the participants said that they did not define themselves as Caribbean or Christian, they were not necessarily denying their heritage; rather, they were perhaps disassociating themselves from some of the constraints imposed by its cultural practices and norms and deciding to choose values and practices that best suited them. For instance, from the analysis, it is evident that changes in traditional assumptions and practices had been very influential in terms of the choices the women made and how they currently lived their lives. Two of these women were divorced and one was cohabiting with her current partner. Women who had previously adhered to traditional norms felt that they no longer had to work and live within such confines. The women showed flexibility and adaptation over time in regard to their relationships and lives.

Identity construction and changing/letting go of beliefs from childhood was a process that took place over time. The complexity of these processes of change was difficult to capture through the women’s accounts. It was evident that the process was not as straightforward as it may appear. Given that a number of these women lived in environments that had strong traditional and cultural beliefs, the consequences of not conforming to these beliefs would have made it very difficult to change their identities and views easily.

Parts of the women’s conversations reflected experiences of resistance, resilience and autonomy, which were perhaps key to why they did not uphold but rather challenged or rejected some of the earlier cultural norms. By showing resistance, some women were able to challenge dominant discourses about African-Caribbean women’s identity and assumed role in society. Also, highlighting the participants’ shifting identities over their life course shows that identities can change and be reconstructed; women do not have to conform to social and cultural expectations. Identities can be fluid and open to negotiation.

African-Caribbean community mothering and ageing without children

All the participants in this research developed a variety of active roles with children, which, to some extent, fulfilled any desire and socio-cultural expectation they might have had to be mothers. It has been suggested that many African-Caribbean women define themselves primarily through their mothering roles and the development of their identities is built on their ability to be good mothers (Barriteau, 1996). Enacting the caring role of a mother allowed some of the participants to express this aspect of their perceived gender identity. This supports research that reports on White British childless women who engage in the care of nieces, nephews and friends’ children (Wenger, 2009).

The concept of community mothering is a useful concept to understand the roles that the women play in relatives’ and children’s lives. Community mothering can be best described as the role and shared responsibility that women have for vulnerable people and children in their community to whom they are not related (Sudbury, 1998). In this case, community mothering draws on and reinforces traditional cultural norms of African-Caribbean femininity and womanhood. Historically, through their role as community mothers, African-Caribbean women have worked together to provide care for African-Caribbean children and their community (Reynolds, 2005). For example, between 1973 and 1975, research was conducted with 45 Jamaican women to determine the dynamics of conjugal relations in the community’s belief system (Brodber, 1986). The study found that: “‘taking in’ and ‘growing’ other people’s children was common practice for many Jamaican women” (Brodber, 1986, p. 23). The women treated the children that they were “taking in” and “growing” as blood relatives and they were considered surrogate mothers (Brodber, 1986, p. 23). The women and children developed emotional attachments; however, the women were easily able to pass the children back to their parents. The women viewed their role as an act of love but also a way to help support their family and community (Brodber, 1986). Adding to this, Collins (2000) argued that due to the social positioning of many Black women and their lack of access to mainstream institutions of power, they exert power and influence in their lives and the lives of others through a series of mothering activities described as motherwork. The women in this research use their power in the home and community to help to support and raise children. Their childless status does not prevent them from fulfilling the role of a mother.

Supporting the concept of community mothering, Allen and Wiles (2013) used the term ‘functional parents’ to describe adults who do not have their own children but who are involved in caring for and raising other people’s children. In contrast to the traditional ideas of mothering, the findings from my research revealed that mothering is not limited to familial and kinship groups (Barrow, 1996; Reynolds, 2005). This evidences the complexity of defining the term childlessness and challenges the conventional concepts of childlessness. For example, childlessness implies that the person without a child lacks having children: “childless, without children and non-parent [emphasis in original]” (Allen and Wiles, 2013, p. 208). However, through the concept of community mothering women can instead define what childless means to them and provide a new context in which it is understood.

The narrative accounts of the participants in this current research showed that, in some instances, the women did not always have complete control and power in regard to defining the community mother roles and motherwork they undertook. For example, the findings showed that as African-Caribbean women there was an expectation that they should look after older family members and relatives, but also there was an additional layer of expectation placed on childless women simply because they did not have children. The inference is they had no or fewer significant responsibilities, therefore they should be able to care for their parents. In these situations, being childless put these women at a disadvantage, as they would have had little choice in terms of deciding whether they wanted to care for their parents or not. If they chose not to, they would possibly face a backlash from family and the wider community. However, some of the women did choose to care for and look after their older relatives, which was associated with feelings of wanting to feel needed. It also filled a void from not having children themselves.

Limitations and future research

In evaluating and reflecting on the research process, a number of learning points have emerged. I would plan to take account of some of these learning points, if I were to engage in a similar piece of research and other learning points may help in the development of future research studies and ideas. For example, due to the relative homogeneity of the participants in this study, research with more diverse groups might provide an insight into the roles of varied ethnicities and cultural contexts in shaping the meaning and experience of childlessness. By extension, future research could explore the phenomenon with women who reflect more diversity in terms of geographical location, education, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. It is also recommended that studies consider researching varied migrant groups and the impact of migration processes.

As this paper was based on a small-scale study, it would be beneficial to undertake larger studies and/or comparative studies of Caribbean communities in the United Kingdom and in the Caribbean to see if there are any distinct differences. This may provide a more thorough and deeper insight into the subject area. Using triangulation, mixed methods and a range of methods could enable the findings to be generalised.

An area that was not explicitly discussed in this research was care needs and support for African-Caribbean women ageing without children. As it is often assumed within part of the African-Caribbean community that children will care for older parents with acute health and care needs, the question here would be who looks after childless African-Caribbean women as they age and care needs increase, and what options are available?

Another area that could be expanded on is the experiences of African-Caribbean couples ageing without children. In this study, the lack of suitable and willing partners was a significant reason why some participants decided to delay or forego their childbearing plans. As such, research on the role of partners in women’s reproductive decision appears to be warranted.

Conclusion

The primary aim in undertaking this research was to examine how the cultural, social and religious contexts shaped the participants’ experiences and context of ageing without children.

By using in-depth interviews and a thematic approach to data analysis, key themes were identified. Early life socialization influenced participants’ cultural and religious identities and beliefs on marriage, children and family life. Cultural and religious contexts also determined how the women were treated and perceived. For example, traditional gender, religious and cultural norms regarding children and marriage in the Caribbean community led to some childless African-Caribbean women facing specific disadvantages, such as the risk of being ridiculed, questioned and being treated less than women with children, due to not conforming to the expectations of having children.

However, there was variation in the extent to which some women’s earlier socialization was retained as they entered adulthood. Some women let go of earlier beliefs and practices, whereas others chose to keep the ones that they felt were important to them, which often influenced their decisions, choices and pathways regarding having children.

This research was useful in highlighting identity construction and shifting identities over the life course. Although such findings build on, and add to, existing literature within this research area, they also depart from it. Crucially, this research brought into view that the pathways to ageing without children and a person’s experiences can be influenced by the cultural, social and religious contexts in which they live.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the ten participants who took part in the study and for sharing their experiences. I would also like to thank Professor Mo Ray and Dr Gavin J. Freeman.

Disclosure statement

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Availability of data and materials

This study analyzes qualitative data. The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available because the participants did not consent to have their full transcripts made publicly available.

Notes

1 This study is based on the author’s PhD dissertation.