The Breeders Who Want You to Have More Kids Right Now
May 3, 2025
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Emma Vigeland, a commentator from The Majority Report, and Moira Donegan, an insightful voice from In Bed With the Right, dissect the alarming rise of pronatalism in America. They unveil its unsettling ties to far-right ideologies and discuss how this movement pressures women while breeding harmful narratives about family and gender roles. The conversation critiques elitist dating cultures and examines the intersection of eugenics with reproductive rights, ultimately questioning the societal implications of a pro-natalist agenda. It's a thought-provoking exploration of patriarchy and politics.
The podcast discusses the Trump administration's financial incentives for childbirth, highlighting their inadequacy in tackling the true costs of raising children.
It explores the ideology behind prominent figures in the pro-natalist movement, revealing their connections to eugenics and concerns over societal control.
The conversation critiques the portrayal of motherhood by influencers, emphasizing how romanticized representations overlook the challenges and complexities of parenting.
Deep dives
Government Incentives for Childbirth
The discussion centers around recent proposals by the Trump administration aimed at incentivizing childbirth, including a proposed baby bonus of $5,000 for new mothers. Critics argue that such financial incentives fall short of addressing the real costs of raising children, which are considerably higher than this amount. The government also aims to encourage childbirth through funded programs on menstrual cycles, framed as an empowerment tool, but perceived as manipulative. This indicates a shift towards a narrative that pressures women into adhering to traditional reproductive roles, further fueled by a societal push for increased birth rates.
The Collinses and Pro-Natalism
Malcolm and Simone Collins have emerged as prominent figures in the pro-natalist movement, positioning themselves as advocates for having large families based on a perceived civilizational duty. Their approach has attracted media attention, portraying their quest to increase birth rates as noble and vital to humanity. The Collinses’ ties to influential figures like Peter Thiel raise concerns about the ideological underpinnings of their beliefs, which veer into eugenic territory as they aim to create 'genetically superior' children through selective reproductive technologies. This aligns with broader themes of white supremacy and societal control, illustrating how personal values can intersect with public policy.
The Role of Technology and Eugenics
The conversation highlights the use of reproductive technologies within the pro-natalist movement, particularly the Collinses' practice of screening embryos for traits such as intelligence. This introduces a new debate around the ethics of eugenics masked as medical advancement, raising questions about the implications of such practices on societal norms and values. Detractors point out that the underlying assumption of 'improving' human genetics is steeped in flawed science that often perpetuates racial and socio-economic biases. These practices reflect a broader acceptance of eugenic ideas, posing a threat to the core principles of equality and diversity.
Cultural and Economic Pressures
Economic factors significantly influence decisions around family size, with many potential parents citing financial instability as a primary reason for postponing or forgoing children. While pro-natalists like the Collinses advocate for larger families, they often neglect the pressing need for systemic support, such as affordable childcare and healthcare. This contradiction highlights a failure to address socio-economic realities, with pronatalist rhetoric underpinned by an elitist disregard for those unable to participate in their envisioned family ideal. By framing the narrative around individual parental responsibility without systemic change, the movement risks perpetuating inequality and undermines actual support for families.
Pop Culture and Ideological Propaganda
Influencers like Ballerina Farm contribute to the normalization of pro-natalist ideals by portraying an idyllic family life that obscures the challenges of large families. This curated representation sells a romanticized view of motherhood that fails to acknowledge the complexities of parenting and the realities many families face. Through their platforms, they reshape cultural expectations, pushing women towards traditional domestic roles while glossing over the labor and sacrifices involved. The engagement with such influencers underscores how ideologies can infiltrate popular culture, affecting perceptions of family and motherhood in the broader societal narrative.
Last week, the New York Times reported: “White House Assesses Ways to Persuade Women to Have More Children”. But who exactly is behind this push, and why, and what does it have to do with Elon Musk’s breeding compulsion? The answer is that “pronatalism”, a far-right movement that looks and smells a lot like a eugenics cult (despite what its leaders say), has entered the White House. Today, Emma Vigeland of The Majority Report and Moira Donegan of In Bed With the Right help explain how a particularly creepy strain of doomsday misogyny found itself at the center of the Republican party.
