She's "happy to die in labor."
This Pronatalist couple will have as many babies as it takes
We’re talking about pronatalism, but we’re specifically talking about two of the most visible figureheads of the movement, Simone and Malcolm Collins. National campaigns focused on coercing women to have as many children as possible in a country led by an administration that hates women (and families!) are weird. But the people making themselves pronatalist-famous are possibly even weirder.
Sara: So in recent weeks, a smattering of new pieces covering the pronatalist movement have come out. And Trump’s administration has openly discussed potentially offering women financial incentives for having as many children as possible and/or a medal in the footsteps of Nazi Germany, which is VERY COOL AND NOT ALARMING. There are several choice quotes from these pieces, including ones from men who bemoan the low attendance of women at pronatalist conferences, for example, as being due to childcare concerns!
“We were going to have more women,” said the economist Bryan Caplan, a father of four. “But they all got pregnant.” (He meant this literally; the conference organizers said four female speakers had dropped out, citing either pregnancy or caring for a sick child.)
Ben Ogilvie, a 25-year-old law student from Chicago, who came single and eager to meet someone, said he was not surprised by the male skew: “A lot of pronatalist women are themselves having children,” he said. “They’re out there doing the work.”
I can’t say any of the recent news updates about the pronatalist movement are surprising (they’re awful, just not surprising), but I was STRUCK by the coverage of Simone and Malcolm Collins, podcasters who have somehow become two of the most recognizable faces of the national pronatalist movement. Simone dresses like a milkmaid who wants to stay warm (but keeps it fresh with a bold red lip), and the couple have named their children things like Industry Americus and Titan Invictus.
You actually listened to a bit of the Collins’ podcast, right, Amanda? I imagine you have a hardwon insider perspective that those of us who’ve rubber-necked the many profiles simply don’t.
Amanda: Unfortunately, yes, I did. I’ve been researching how tech bros exert their influence in politics, and how this brand of political influence overlaps with the pronatal movement—and this couple really brings it all together. They want to rule the world and they’re having as many babies as it takes to make that happen.
 | A guest post by
|