What Are PANK Aunts?

You may be wondering what PANK aunts are. This neologism hides an important sociological change. Discover more in the following article.

Reviewed and approved by the pediatrician Marcela Alejandra Caffulli.

Written by Maria del Mar Garcia Martin

Last update: 17 March, 2023

Year after year, new societal movements and trends appear in the world. Some tend to disappear, but others stay and leave their mark. In regard to the latter, here are all the details so you can discover what PANK aunts are.

What are PANK aunts and how did this new movement come about?

Everyone has met that aunt who adores her nieces and nephews and takes care of them as if they were her own but doesn’t want to have children. Well, the term PANK stands for Professional Aunt No Kids.

This neologism was created by Melanie Notkin in 2008. She’s a Canadian marketing specialist, single and childless, who wanted to create a term to refer to women who don’t want to have children. In any case, she wanted to claim that they were a key demographic in today’s society.

The purpose of coining this term is to confront macho thinking, which has always held the idea that a woman who doesn’t have children is a “broken” woman. However, nowadays, society is in continuous change and has shown that this idea isn’t only wrong, but couldn’t be further from reality.

What qualities define a PANK?

According to the data collected in the study conducted by Weber Shandick’s communications agency, in collaboration with Melanie Notkin herself, one in five American women between the ages of 20 and 44 are PANKs. In other words, they make up a significant percentage of the population.

In addition, the published research lists some of the qualities that define PANK aunts. Among them, the following stand out:

1. They have an attractive lifestyle. Most of them have a full-time job and invest their income in improving their quality of life.
2. They help the economy of their nieces and nephews. In fact, in America, it has been estimated that the PANK movement spends $9 billion on shopping for their nieces and nephews.
3. They’re an example and a source of advice for nieces, nephews, and even parents.
4. They’re happy in their role as aunts.
5. They’re connected (and disconnected). In general, they tend to have more than 15 good friendships. In addition, they interact with people from different age groups and social backgrounds.
6. They share information on the Internet.
7. They influence the decisions of others. In this regard, their opinions are taken into account in their families.
8. They’re informed and always look for the best.
9. They influence the lives of their nieces and nephews.
10. They combine their social life with life at home.
11. They’re interested in learning how to take care of their nephews and nieces.
12. They’re everywhere: In cities, towns, and villages.
13. They belong to the digital generation and are at the forefront of the Internet consumption curve.

Now that you know what PANK aunts are, do you also feel identified?

Now that you know this term to define women who don’t want to have children, perhaps you identify with their way of life. You may have realized that you meet all or some of the characteristics of a PANK aunt. If so, you should be proud of it.

On the other hand, what about the uncles who adore their nieces and nephews, but also don’t want to be parents? Well, they’re also part of an important sector of the population and have been referred to as PUNKs (Professional Uncles No Kids).