<p>The purpose of this study is to examine how some people who do not want children construct their identity in a context where children is the norm. The study therefore focuses on how they legitimate and present their identity in this context. 4 women and 2 men with the intention to remain childless have therefore been interviewed, and from these interviews I analyze and describe how intentional childless people construct their identity. My theoretical framework is built up by discourse psychology and gender/heterosexual hegemony theories. The thesis shows that it is hard for the intentional childless to construct their identity as once and for all given, the identity is constructed as a “norm” against the norm, as well as affected by the norm. The intentional childless in this study construct their identity by using different discourses and place themselves in a context. The use of discourses tend to describe intentional childless in a certain way, often in a good way, and here is also a rhetorical language use in practice.</p>

The purpose of this study is to examine how some people who do not want children construct their identity in a context where children is the norm. The study therefore focuses on how they legitimate and present their identity in this context. 4 women and 2 men with the intention to remain childless have therefore been interviewed, and from these interviews I analyze and describe how intentional childless people construct their identity. My theoretical framework is built up by discourse psychology and gender/heterosexual hegemony theories. The thesis shows that it is hard for the intentional childless to construct their identity as once and for all given, the identity is constructed as a “norm” against the norm, as well as affected by the norm. The intentional childless in this study construct their identity by using different discourses and place themselves in a context. The use of discourses tend to describe intentional childless in a certain way, often in a good way, and here is also a rhetorical language use in practice.