A Brisbane-based influencer sparked outrage on Thursday when she revealed the real reason she doesn’t want to have children.
Karina Irby, 34, owner of swimwear company Moana Swim, took to Instagram to post a lengthy post saying that having children would take more out of her life than she is willing to give.
While she received a lot of support from her 1.1 million followers, others in the comments were outraged by the body-positive influencer’s reasoning.
The backlash started when Karina uploaded several selfies of herself enjoying life, alongside messages she had received from fans asking why she doesn’t want children.
Karina then explained, “I know I would be a great mom, but the thought of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and having a healthy baby scares me.
‘I’m afraid I would lose myself – my identity – and end up hating my child. I think raising a child in a world plagued by global warming, endless wars and rising costs is selfish.’
Brisbane-based influencer Karina Irby, 34, (pictured) sparked outrage on Thursday when she revealed the real reason she doesn’t want to have children
Karina went on to say that she is also afraid of having a child who will one day grow up not liking or respecting her.
She added that she “would no longer be able to run my businesses – something I love and have worked so hard for,” and “feared” that she would “regret the loss of my freedom.”
“People tell me I’m missing the greatest gift in life, but having children would actually take away my greatest gift in life.”
While most of Karina’s fans flocked to the comments to support her decision to live childfree and the reasons she gave, others were not so forgiving.
‘I’m sorry. But HAHAHAHAHA,” one critic said simply, while another said, “This girl’s ego.”
A third wrote: ‘Oh… global warming… why are you on a beach then?’
‘May I ask who you are building your wealth for if you do not intend to pass it on to your children? It’s invasive, but it just doesn’t make sense to me,” another wondered.
Someone else pointed out that Karina let “fear” dictate her life.
Karina, owner of swimwear company Moana Swim, posted a lengthy post on Instagram saying that having children would take more out of her life than she is willing to give
“Imagine living your life out of fear and negative ‘imagine’ scenarios instead of positivity. You CAN still have a successful career or business AND be a mother,” they said.
They added: ‘Your company is also good enough, you can hire someone to do your job while you just relax. It doesn’t always have to be so extreme.’
Another follower took offense to Karina, saying it was “selfish” to raise children in modern times.
“Intentionally saying that having a child in today’s world is selfish… that’s insulting whether you meant it that way or not,” they said.
‘For some people, their only happiness in this world is their children. I’m glad you’re self-aware enough to not want them, but to be unintentionally called selfish for choosing to have children, three souls I love more than I could ever love myself, is insanely hurtful .
‘Not to mention the parents who want nothing more than to have a child and may have difficulty with fertility. If you don’t want kids, you just don’t want them, and that’s fine. You don’t have to explain why.’
It comes just weeks after Karina hit back to online trolls who criticized her decision to remain child-free as she admitted she would ‘regret’ having children.
Karina addressed her followers’ concerns during a recent question and answer session on her Instagram page.
While she received a lot of support from her 1.1 million followers, others in the comments were outraged by the body-positive influencer’s reasoning.
In the Q&A she was aptly questioned: ‘Are you planning to have children?’ to which Karina responded with a photo of her and her husband, adding, “No. A bunch of kids of your choice here.”
The response appeared to anger some critics, with one person writing: ‘You will go back on this decision if you don’t have children.’
However, Karina stuck to her guns and, correcting the critic’s spelling, fired back: ‘Regret* How can you be so sure I’ll regret it? Don’t you know me or my husband? I’d regret it if I had them.’
The content creator and her husband, Ryan, have spoken out about their decision to remain child-free, explaining that they are simply happier without children.
Despite the backlash, the influencer remains steadfast in her decision and encourages her followers to consider that personal choices – especially around family and reproduction – are private matters.