Reviews & Quotes | My So-Called Selfish Life

Academic Quotes

Harvard University | Sexual Health Education & Advocacy Throughout Harvard College (SHEATH) | Ash Johnson, Co-President, Harvard College '25
"While watching My So-Called Selfish Life, I really appreciated the range of perspectives that it captures. The film educates from a diverse lens, truly with the understanding that the fight for reproductive rights is not one just for women, and this struggle affects people differently. As a Black person, I greatly appreciated that the film acknowledges the historical context of eugenics and how that still affects reproductive health access for the black community today. All in all, I felt seen, heard, and reflected in My So-Called Selfish Life and I would encourage others to watch!"

Video Librarian | Jennifer Fischer
 "Documentary film buyers should make sure My So-Called Selfish Life is a part of their shelves as there are certainly very few other films, if any, that counter the abundant stereotypes and misconceptions that dominant media regarding child-free women-identifying individuals."

Educational Media Reviews Online | Kay Hogan Smith, Retired - University of Alabama at Birmingham, Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences
Highly Recommended "The pressure and censure that the primary subjects of My So-Called Selfish Life have dealt with when they revealed their lack of interest in becoming mothers are discussed candidly, revealing hard-won self-awareness, humor and resilience ... Highly recommended, especially for audiences interested in sociology or women’s studies."

Guttmacher Institute | Ann M. Moore, Principal Research Scientist
“Voluntary childlessness is often overlooked by researchers and society at large; Therese’s film underscores the importance of including it in the spectrum of reproductive choice. As an often-stigmatized decision, My So-Called Selfish Life eloquently demonstrates that women who choose to remain childfree deserve higher visibility in the reproductive rights movement.”

University of Maine | Dr. Amy Blackstone, Professor of Sociology, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, University of Maine; Author, “Childfree By Choice” (Dutton 2019)
"Wonderful to see and hear from a diverse group, particularly given how white and middle/upper-middle class this area of work has been to this point–both in terms of whose experiences are considered and who gets presented as expert."

Denison University | Dr. Hanne Blank Boyd, Dept. of Women’s and Gender Studies
"A big-hearted and joyfully feminist film that opens an important conversation about the potential of women's lives.”

University of South Carolina Beaufort | Deborah J. Cohan , Ph.D., Professor of Sociology
"Validating and life-affirming for those who have made this choice, and deeply informative for anyone willing to be open to understanding that choice."

Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, CUNY | Bonnie Anderson, PhD, Professor Emerita of History
"My So-Called Selfish Life was terrific. I loved the different kinds of women the film portrayed… especially the inclusion of women of color."

Press Quotes

Dua Lipa
“My hope is that more conversations – with women and men – might be started by films such as My So-Called Selfish Life"

The Guardian
“Looks at the pernicious side of the traditional ways women are validated”

Ms. Magazine
"My So-Called Selfish Life tackles everything from reproductive oppression and pronatalism to being joyfully single and child-free with meticulous research, deft analysis and just the right dose of humor."

New York Post
"The documentary [My So-Called Selfish Life] feels particularly timely now, with the recent leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision."

Chicago Tribune
“Shechter brings political speeches, pop culture references, physicians’ expertise and personal experiences of childless women together on the issues and pressures surrounding reproductive justice.”

Jewish Women’s Archive
“Full of insights from experts and the joyously childfree, this film expands our understanding of reproductive justice.”

Lilith
“The demise of Roe v. Wade is imminent, and in this moment, it’s more important than ever to annihilate the notion that motherhood is the most defining aspect of a woman’s destiny.”

Film Obsessive
"For those who do see the film [...] they’ll find a a briskly humorous and intentionally intersectional take on a taboo that need not be one."