Thrive Solo The One Where I Talk To Proud Black Sheep & Childfree Advocate, Shweta Ramkumar
My guest on the podcast this week is the inimitable, Shweta Ramkumar.
Shweta is an advocate of the childfree lifestyle, she is a southern Asian woman of colour and a pioneer of dismantling the oppressive norms of the conservative, sexist, and patriarchal culture and society she grew up in. Her life journey is an example of someone who has broken free from the shackles of cultural conformity and she is a proud black sheep within her family and her Indian culture. Now, Shweta is in a long-term relationship, but I really wanted to talk to her not only about being childfree, but largely about her experience of growing up in a culture where the things she saw going on simply didn’t sit well with her, and how she managed to forge her own path in life. Now although grew up in India, she now lives in Melbourne, Australia where her family moved when she was 16.
Topics that we cover are:
- her experience of growing up in India, and the things she observed that didn’t sit well with her;
- the concept of ‘auditioning’ for a man and his family;
- how what she saw of her patriarchal society meant that she never wanted to get married and have kids;
- the huge difference in expectations for men and women;
- her mother, a lawyer, and how she ‘put her foot down’ in her own life;
- how Shweta wanted completely different things to her friends who were all focused on getting married;
- moving to Australia with her family, and how she struggled from the age of 18;
- how it took her a while to feel like she belonged, and to find her tribe;
- how Shweta feels that her parents are disappointed in her for not towing the line in her career;
- her decision to stop dating Indian men;
- how she felt like she was living a double life when she was in her twenties;
- the toxic relationship with a man whose parent’s made derogatory comments about her appearance;
- Shweta’s advice for other women who are struggling with their cultural traditions and expectations;
- some of the social media accounts that can help these women;
- the importance of working with a therapist from your own culture;
- being addicted to stress, and how so many of us don’t realise that we’re addicted to feeling bad;
- being a childfree advocate, and what that means to Shweta;
- what Shweta’s independent relationship with her partner looks like;
- how solo travel pushes her out of her comfort zone, and how much she loves it.
Follow Shweta on Instagram:
https://www.insta
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And thank you so much for listening!