No baby--oh brother!

My essay on inadvertently becoming a poster child for the childfree movement, which ran in the March 2006 issue of San Francisco Magazine, is now available online.

A snip:
When I wrote Baby Not on Board: A Celebration of Life Without Kids, it was not to stir up controversy--plenty of sneering, anti-child books and websites do that already--but to provide some upbeat moral support and practical advice to the growing number of people who are opting out of the family track. Living in San Francisco, where lifestyles of every stripe are accepted almost without question and child-free households are in the majority, I certainly didn't want to write an earnest manifesto on the subject. So rather than defend the choice, attack pro-family government policies, or try to lead a movement, I packed my book full of playful quizzes, top 10 lists, and humorous illustrations. In a section on babysitting, I explained how to change a diaper the real way and how to do it if you never wanted to be asked again. (Hint: it involves duct tape.) A list of alternative ways to spread your DNA included everything from organ donation to cryogenic freezing. I even published under my first and middle name, nonom de plume I reserve for my less serious projects. I figured if we could all have a good laugh about the whole thing, it would mean we had truly arrived.

Alas, the online version doesn't include Kim Rosen's hilarious illustration of husband Alan and myself being interrogated press conference-style. I guess they have to provide some incentive to buy the actual magazine.
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