Because behaviors on the fringes often shed light on social phenomena, we will analyze the normative framework surrounding entry into parenthood and parenting via the discourse of those who are voluntarily childless. After a quantitative overview of measures of voluntary childlessness, we describe the methodology used to collect the qualitative data on which the analyses presented in this article are based. We show that the social and normative conditions of entry into parenthood and parenting appear to contradict the norms and ideologies conveyed by our contemporary competitive liberal societies. In the conjugal, professional, and personal spheres, individual choices and merits take precedence, while in the family, priority is given to selflessness and availability.