Otherhood

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A community identity exists for individuals not defining themselves as parents or children, highlighting their unique experiences and social connections
2. A collective identity emerges for those who do not identify as parents, emphasizing their distinct experiences and relationships within a broader social context
3. An alternative social identity is formed by individuals who neither see themselves as parents nor children, bringing attention to their unique narratives and communal ties

Etymology: "Otherhood" is a plain compound: the adjective "other" joined to the suffix "-hood," which turns a noun or adjective into a noun for a state, condition, or group. Adding "-hood" to "other" produces a collective identity, the condition of being one of the people who are not parents, set against the parent world. The formation follows the pattern of "motherhood" and "fatherhood," where the suffix names a status and the base word names who holds it. Because the suffix is attached to an everyday adjective rather than a Latin or Greek root, the word is transparent: a reader can work out its meaning from its two parts without a dictionary. The "-hood" element descends from an Old English noun meaning "person, rank, or state," so the coinage draws on a very old English ending used for centuries to describe conditions in life.