B Word

Director’s Statement

B Word was birthed out of my own fears and anxieties about having children and the intense pressure I feel to procreate. Starting at 30, I swore babies could smell my biological clock and started flirting with me. By 35, friends having babies were dropping like flies in my life. I starting feeling lonely, like there was something wrong with me and I just didn't belong.

But not having kids just never felt like a real option. Growing up, I was told girls can only be three things: The Hot Chick obsessed with marriage (think Cinderella and every Disney princess); The Perfect Mom who sacrifices everything for their kids (like The Virgin Mary or every Disney Mom who weirdly dies in childbirth); or lastly, the good ol’ Childless Hag (aka The Evil Witch). It shocks me how few narratives exist showing that being childfree is a viable life choice where you can live a happy fulfilling life. Instead, society shames women who either don’t want kids or can’t. And if you do have kids, at least in America, there are no systems in place to support you (like free day care or paid parental leave), and you’ll still struggle to live up to the impossible ideals of motherhood. That’s without even mentioning Roe V Wade being overturned and the millions of women whose choice was taken away. It all makes me sick and angry, and although this film isn’t going to change any of that, I do hope women (both with and without kids) will relate to these fears and pressures around reproducing and that it will make them laugh and feel seen.

~Honora