I've called myself many things in public - a binge eater, an addict, a perfectionist, a workaholic, to name but a few - but I've never called myself a feminist. It's only now that I'm starting to wonder why.

For those experiencing feminism's unintended consequences - childless, working women of my generation who, just like Friedan's housewives, are wondering if there's 'something more' - it can feel like the pendulum swung too far the other way.

Statistics show us that more and more women are choosing not to have children, for reasons that are as varied as the seasons. With that, one would hope the negative attitude towards those who opt out of parenthood, the idea that they are unnatural and selfish, will dissipate. Not wanting kids doesn't make you any less of a woman or a bad person. Talking about not wanting kids doesn't make you offensive, just honest. Not wanting kids doesn't automatically mean you dislike them. Having kids reluctantly, as a kind of 'just in case' policy is probably not the best idea.

Many of us are so busy with work commitments and after-work activities Monday-to-Friday that we can't wait for the peace and quiet of the weekend in order to recover. And then, when we wake up on Saturday morning to an empty bed, an empty house and an empty weekend, it doesn't feel relaxing, it feels hideously oppressive.

Being a 33-year-old exhibiting no signs of reproduction has taught me a lot about how far feminism still has to go and about the expectations of the current moment, expectations about what being a woman is, or indeed about what being a proper person is.

The bottom line is that whether we like it or not, our decision-making, even if it does feel natural, is influenced by pressure.

Almost half of thirtysomething women would prefer to get on the property ladder than have a baby, according to a poll of 2,000 women. The survey, c...

Abortions among women in their 40s have risen by a third in the last decade. Although there are various causes for this rise, a proportion of them are...