Life & Work with Abigail Porter of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Abigail Porter

Hi Abigail, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been passionate about advocating for women’s rights and their bodily autonomy. In July of 2021, I began making videos on TikTok talking about my choice not to have children, and my channel quickly blew up. My videos started reaching millions of viewers- some who were curious about my lifestyle, some who were threatened by it, and some who felt validated in their own decisions by watching me make my own. I began to compile a “List of Reasons not to Have Kids,” sharing stories from mothers and caregivers that contributed to my decision to remain childfree. I became known across platforms as “The Girl With The List” and to this day I have continued to share my list with my audience of 860,000.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Having a public platform and presence, especially one as opinionated as my own, has allowed me to build and connect with an audience of likeminded individuals who share my world view, passions, and core beliefs. However, it has also opened me up to criticism and, occasionally, hate. A woman’s decision to have or not to have children is a deeply personal one, one that should be left up to her alone. Only I should be making the final call on what I choose to do with my body. This, however, with the overturn of Roe v Wade, has become a hotly contended issue. There are many individuals on the internet who are threatened and triggered by my personal decisions, and I constantly have to ignore hateful messages and comments that threaten my wellbeing.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am most known for my video series I lovingly call “The List.” For 3 years i have been compiling a list of reasons not to have kids and reminding women to take their birth control. This list is a mix of funny, shocking, and educational. My list is over 250 reasons long, and I still learn something new every day. It has been incredibly eye opening for me to realize just how little women are taught about our own bodies and health, especially pertaining to pregnancy and childbirth. There are so many risks and changes that the body must undergo in order to reproduce. I am an adamant believer in informed consent and the idea that women should know exactly what they should expect to go through when they make the choice to have children. Women deserve to be informed when we make such lifechanging choices for our lives and bodies. That belief is the main driver behind my work and what I do.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I live in Downtown and I love the atmosphere. I love the hustle and bustle of city life, combined with the constant sunshine and warmth. My area of downtown is surprisingly walkable, I almost never drive but everything I need is within a few blocks. I get a lot of exercise walking around to my favorite spots.

I wish there were more green areas for the community to enjoy. I wish we invested more in our public spaces so we could enjoy our beautiful weather together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://z00mie.komi.io
• Instagram: @z00m.ie
• Youtube: @z00mie
• Other: TikTok- @z00mie (all of the os are actually zeros, in all of my urls including Instagram and Youtube. The font may be confusing)

Image Credits
Dylan Huang