Publications & Appearances
Publications
My Ghost of Halloween Past: I Used to Wear Cultures as Costumes
October 2017, November 2017 | Essay
(Excerpt)
“…Halloween has a unique universality to it that allows adults to enjoy the silly and scandalous fantasy of hiding behind face-paint or fairy-wings.
But Halloween (and costumes/fancy dress in general) is also a time for self-awareness… Halloween may be a day permitting mitigated inhibitions, but our ethical responsibilities do not get a day off…”
We Are Pulse: A Response to and Dissent of Homophobic Hate Crimes in America
June 2016 | Essay
(Excerpt)
“In response to the massacre in Orlando, FL—reported as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. History in which 49 people were murdered and 53 people were wounded—and the daily reported abuses suffered by LGBTQI Americans at the hands of the hateful and the misguided, my heart is heavy with so many reactions…”
Presentations & Appearances
Episode: “No Kids, No Problem: An Exploration Of The Childfree Choice”
on WNPR’s ‘Where We Live’
(Live radio interview)
Featured Guest Speaker | January 16, 2018
(Description from the episode page on WNPR’s website)
“There are many questions a young woman will face as she matures. Among them: What is her timeline for building a family? And how many kids does she expect to have?
But not all women want to become mothers.
Christen Reighter was in her early 20s when she underwent surgical sterilization… This hour, we find out what’s driving some women — like Reighter — to say no to having kids. We also talk about the challenges and stigma they come up against…”
My Struggle of Choosing to Live Childfree
(Presentation)
Featured Guest Speaker | September 2017 | Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition (in partnership with the United Way) | Amarillo, TX
Topic: Societal & medical resources and the implications of being supported vs. silenced with the intention of raising awareness of the prevalence of childfree-inclinations in order to improve support.
Audience: Various professionals who encounter teen pregnancy—through prevention, healthcare, providing social or living resources and services, parental-education, and more.
My Choice to Live Childfree
(Later retitled by TED.com as…) I don’t want children — stop telling me I’ll change my mind
(Presentation)
Featured Speaker | October 2016 | TEDxMileHigh Women: It’s About Time | Denver, CO
(Description from TED.com) “1 in 5 women in the US will not have a biological child, and Christen Reighter is one of them. From a young age, she knew she didn’t want kids, despite societal and medical resistance. In this powerful talk, she shares her story of seeking sterilization, affirming that motherhood is an extension of womanhood, not the definition.”
Defending My Bodily Autonomy (And Why I Should Not Have To): Confronting Paternalistic Culture as a Childfree-By-Choice Woman
(Presentation)
Featured Session Speaker | November 2015 | ‘Feast of Pleasures and Delights’—North Texas Mensa Regional Gathering | Fort Worth, TX
(Description from the conference program)
“Who determines what a family looks like? How is a woman’s value and identity quantified? Learn about one woman’s quest and the struggles therein to obtain voluntary surgical sterilization to ensure her desire to maintain a child-free life. Discuss how medical paternalism restricts the bodily autonomy of women in general and how our culture views and condemns child-free women.”
Defending My Bodily Autonomy (And Why I Should Not Have To): Confronting Paternalistic Culture as a Childfree-By-Choice Woman
(Presentation)
Breakout-Session Speaker | October 2015 | 6th Annual Women’s Conference, University of Northern Colorado | Greeley, CO
Christen Reighter Writer|Speaker|Advocate 