Dolly Parton on being childfree. Started off wisely, then became a breeder blab

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Dolly has never hidden her CF orientation, but does she have to go and say this

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"I really love kids. I love the energy of children. It makes me feel young. I’m just drawn to them. They’re like magic to me. And they’re drawn to me, the childlike part of me that never did grow up."

Gawd, that makes me tired, reading that kind of nonsense

My thoughts and comments in red.

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"I feel more like a godmother, like a fairy godmother, than I do like a real mother," Parton says. "I think probably I make a better godmother and an aunt than I would a mother because I was always so involved in my own things."
Breeders are involved in their own "things" too; it's called living the life that you want, and why should anyone apologize for that?

The superstar added that she probably would have given up her singing ambitions if she had gone that route."I probably would have been like my sisters and my mom. I probably would have given up my dreams for that. This is irritating. Instead of saying: I WASN'T WILLING TO GIVE UP MY LIFE FOR KIDS, she's saying, oh, if I had kyds, I would have given up my career for them. Old Dolly is dumb like a fox and I'm thinking she's been coached. I have some admiration for her double-speak, but a man wouldn't get similar questions, nor would he have to justify not having crotch muffins.

But I guess God has His reasons for doing things," This is where my eyeballs went on permanent hiatus to the back of my head. Is she saying Jaysus himself was making sure she took her Pill every night? Just once I'd like to see a hard working, ambitious woman OWN her choice. But then again, The Mommy Mafia only screams down the women who do****.

What comes next is clearly a backpedal to her chyyyld loving fan base: She mused. "I really love kids. I love the energy of children. It makes me feel young. I’m just drawn to them. They’re like magic to me. And they’re drawn to me, the childlike part of me that never did grow up."

Happily, (Of course, the author must use the word "happily," because doG forbid a woman get through life without exercising her "moo-ternal" instinct or enjoying her life without sticky crotch nuggets. Because the Earth would fall off its axis, yanno. eyes2) she's been able to exercise her maternal instincts as an aunt and role model to many others. It's well-known that one of her godchildren is Miley Cyrus (which, by the way, was never a legally designated relationship; Parton herself notes it's symbolic).

Perhaps Parton is too smart to have any legal relationship and have to spend any coin on that trainwreck.

Dolly Parton strikes me as someone who is smart and ambitious but will play Country Dumb when it suits her purposes. Her prerogative, I suppose. I guess she wants to keep the Good, Lifescriptin' People of the world coming to Dollywood.

But a big part of me says, Jeez lady, you have enough money. Wouldn't it be refreshing to be yourself at this point in your life? I think there is a higher standard for women who want to be perceived as "ladies" by their fans. Men can cuss and be harsh but not women.


***In her book entitled Baby Boom, Elinor Burkett discussed the resultant shit storm when Joyce Purnick, a NYT editor, went to her alma mater to give a commencement speech in 1998. Purnick, whom I would classify as childless, wanted children but didn't marry until she was in her 40's. In her speech she discussed her career path and said the obvious: she probably wouldn't have her current job had she had children.

When she got back to work a lynch-mob of indignant Mommies and Daddies formed. People even wanted her fired.

An editorial about the incident can be found here.

I do have it all, because 'all' only entails what you wanted in the first place. Some people are jealous as all fuck that I do, and I'm fine with that. They apparently wanted sprogs more than they wanted other things, so they'd best be satisfied with whatever else, if anything, they can manage besides that.

Whenever 'must be nice' crops up, I always reply that it certainly is. They'll never wring a drop of contrition out of me for sticking with my priorities, staying true to my childfreedom, and working my ass off. If they wanted what I have, they were free to do the same.

Dolly Parton is a brand, and the real woman behind that facade needs to stay true to the brand, so she says what's expected of her without straying too far from her true beliefs. I can understand her because I am sure things change once you're in the limelight.
Even younger stars like Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston were making up apologies for so many years before finally reaching an age where they can openly say they are childfree. JA is still making apologies though, hell knows why.

I also hate this 'having it all' thing. As barbur said, 'having it all' depends on what you want in the first place. It's also ridiculous to think that all CF people are rolling in it.

I'm with rockchick. Dolly can't afford to alienate her breeder fan base, she has to put on a front. Maybe she kicks strollers down hallways in private.

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"[GFG's pregnancy is] kind of like at the stables where that one dumb, ugly-ass mare broke out of her corral one day and got herself screwed by the equally fugly colt that was due to be gelded the same afternoon."- Shiny

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Miss_Hannigan
I'm with rockchick. Dolly can't afford to alienate her breeder fan base, she has to put on a front. Maybe she kicks strollers down hallways in private.

I suppose fame gets in your blood and you'll do whatever it takes to stay relevant and adored - but the woman is almost 70. I know I'd never have that kind of energy to live a double life.

I looked around and found an earlier interview where she wasn't so inane about the subject of having kids. Turns out she is childless person who seems to have made a not-unhappy transition to childfree

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Dean (her husband) and Parton discovered that they could not have children when the singer was in her early 30s, but in public at least she has remained upbeat about this devastating blow.

‘We knew what we were going to name our children if we had had kids, but it never happened,’ she tells me. ‘And now we are older, we are glad we don’t have children.’

But at the time when you were trying, did you feel angry that you didn’t fall pregnant?

‘I never did and my husband never did. I was focused on my career and if I’d had kids, I would have been more focused on that, so I probably would not have been a star. It was just not meant to be.’

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barbur
I do have it all, because 'all' only entails what you wanted in the first place. Some people are jealous as all fuck that I do, and I'm fine with that. They apparently wanted sprogs more than they wanted other things, so they'd best be satisfied with whatever else, if anything, they can manage besides that.

Whenever 'must be nice' crops up, I always reply that it certainly is. They'll never wring a drop of contrition out of me for sticking with my priorities, staying true to my childfreedom, and working my ass off. If they wanted what I have, they were free to do the same.

You just spelled out my whole life right here. If you wanted money, free time, and literally anything else that comes with life... Then why did you handicap yourself with children? Having kids to me is like snapping one of your legs before a race and then bitching that you didn't get a medal for 50th place. It's setting for a mediocre life IMHO, and you get mediocre shit for it. You best like it because this is your life now, lock stock and barrel.

I'm thinking she's been coached, too, because what I'm reading in all that tripe is her just hitting mark after mark after mark, check check check. What she's saying sounds completely fake and contrived and like she's getting in all the cliche phrases that breeders need to hear if she wants them to part with more money. She still makes music and has to keep the breeders a-comin' on down to the amusement park. Sometimes I call entertainers sellouts when they pander to breeders with a checklist of breeder pleasing phrases, but it's worse when celebrities in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s are caving in and having or fathering babbies, and I can certainly see your point about crazy like a fox, too, with this being her income.

I hadn't realized she had given interviews in the past where she discussed being infertile.

She can also be a lot more sanguine because it won't happen to her now. She has the fame and didn't have to give up a thing.

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night owl
I'm thinking she's been coached, too, because what I'm reading in all that tripe is her just hitting mark after mark after mark, check check check. What she's saying sounds completely fake and contrived and like she's getting in all the cliche phrases that breeders need to hear if she wants them to part with more money. She still makes music and has to keep the breeders a-comin' on down to the amusement park. Sometimes I call entertainers sellouts when they pander to breeders with a checklist of breeder pleasing phrases, but it's worse when celebrities in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s are caving in and having or fathering babbies, and I can certainly see your point about crazy like a fox, too, with this being her income.

I noticed this too. She just seems to be playing them like a fiddle. Kudos, my friend. It doesn't help the rest of us much, but hey, she's Dolly Parton and has a lot to lose.

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"I really love kids. I love the energy of children. It makes me feel young. I’m just drawn to them. They’re like magic to me. And they’re drawn to me, the childlike part of me that never did grow up."

Translation: I REALLLLY don't want to upset the demographic of people I need to come to my park and spend money. Here's some appeasing fluff so you can go on thinking "Well my baby is different" and "shes one of those 'acceptable' selfish CF". She still has a theme park right? Eh, the real winner is the person with all the money and no kids. I'm jealous.

benevolent Anti-natalist, pro-abortion, pro-smut, anti-sleeze, eat the rich, fuck childbirth. pro-black, lgbtqia? Cool. *thumbs up*

I agree that this is some breeder-pleasing mess, but lest we forget how backwards country music fans can be. Remember what happened to the Dixie Chicks when one of them criticized our president? They were blackballed at the height of their fame, not to be heard from since.

Saying anything remotely negative about kyds or breeding is bound to draw the wrath of Southern-fried moos from New Mexico to Kentucky. We're talking about women whose entire ambition in life is to get married and sprog. I should know; I grew up there. Stepping outside the box is simply not allowed.

An even scarier thought: maybe this is how she really feels. The brainwashing runs deep.