Childless women who shape history and culture are still judged on not being mothers

By Lynsey Cowlishaw, PhD Candidate in History and Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King's College London

The women I return to most – Elizabeth I, her potential heir Arbella Stuart (and rival to James Charles Stuart, later King James I), Virginia Woolf, Katharine Hepburn, Debbie Harry – never had children. Their reasons were wildly different: some chose it, some were prevented, some never got the chance. The pattern raises two questions. Did their work or their position cost them their choice? And why does it seem to matter, overshadowing the legacy and achievements of great women?

Falling…

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