Ringing the Existential Alarm: Exploring BirthStrike for Climate

McMullen, Heather; Dow, Katharine

doi:10.1080/01459740.2022.2083510

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…It is in this sense that traditional demographic politics are closely entangled with the biomedicalization of society and the spread of reproductive technologies. We see similar forms of demographization in COVID-19 policies across the globe (Eaves and Al-Hindi, 2020; Laufenberg and Schultz, 2021) or in recent discussions about the need to limit reproduction to counter climate change in form of so-called birth strikes (Hendrixson et al, 2019; Hübl, 2022; McMullen and Dow, 2022; Sasser, 2014, 2018; Schultz, 2020).…”

Section: Conclusion: Reflecting the Fertility Industry Through The Le...mentioning

confidence: 65%

Reproductive geopolitics: Governing in/fertile bodies in Mexico’s past and present

Perler,

Schurr,

Komposch

et al. 2023

Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space

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Building on work in feminist geopolitics, we discuss how the governance of in/fertility affects the value assigned to different bodies and the question whose bodies and lives are considered as worthy of reproducing in Mexico. To reveal the geopolitical entanglements of past and present forms of reproductive governance, we investigate the transnational connections of Mexico’s fertility network with Spain and the United States of America. We juxtapose visual materials from political campaigns of the past with advertisements for present-day fertility clinics to trace the reproductive geopolitics of (post)colonialism that shape current developments, practices, and discourses in this transnational fertility network. Each pair of visuals exemplifies particular times and spaces of reproductive geopolitics. The paper reveals how the contemporary Mexican fertility market is shaped by transnational forms of reproductive governance. We employ visual juxtaposition to provoke readers to think about the entanglement of present-day fertility markets with past reproductive geopolitics.

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Section: Conclusion: Reflecting the Fertility Industry Through The Le...mentioning

confidence: 65%

Reproductive geopolitics: Governing in/fertile bodies in Mexico’s past and present

Perler,

Schurr,

Komposch

et al. 2023

Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space

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show abstract

“…The term 'childfree' is isolated as a distinct concept from 'childless', where the former refers to the ability to have children but choosing not to as a result of sociocultural shifts in societal norms, whilst the latter simply refers to an inability to reproduce despite wishing to have children [31]. This dichotomy is problematised as many describe feeling forced into the decision due to their climate change concerns which does not resonate with the typically voluntary nature of choosing to remain childfree [36]. This subset of individuals will therefore be referred to using more specific nomenclature, 'environmentally childfree', defined as "not hav [ing] children or restrict[ing] reproduction.…”

Section: Reproductive Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst the direction of the links between climate change and reproductive decision-making is contested, less academic attention has been paid to the role of mental health and wellbeing in shaping these decisions. The three broad themes of climate change, its impact on mental health and wellbeing, and reproductive decision-making have been united as a topic garnering significant public attention within media polls, blog posts and, more colloquially, in conversations amongst friends and family [36]. In 2018, a nationally representative New York Times survey distributed to 1,858 childfree American men and women aged 20-45 found that 33% of participants selected the response 'worried about climate change' as a reason for remaining childfree [40].…”

Section: Reproductive Decision-making In Response To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change, mental health, and reproductive decision-making: A systematic review

Dillarstone,

Brown,

Flores

2023

PLOS Clim

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The impact of climate change on reproductive decision-making is becoming a significant issue, with anecdotal evidence indicating a growing number of people factoring their concerns about climate change into their childbearing plans. Although empirical research has explored climate change and its relationship to mental health, as well as the motivations behind reproductive decision-making independently, a gap in the literature remains that bridges these topics at their nexus. This review endeavours to fill this gap by synthesising the available evidence connecting climate change-related concerns with reproductive decision-making and exploring the reasons and motivations behind this relationship. A systematic review using six databases was conducted to identify relevant literature. Included studies reported quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods data related to: (1) climate change, (2) mental health and wellbeing concerns, and (3) reproductive decision-making. Findings were synthesised narratively using a parallel-results convergent synthesis design and the quality of studies was appraised using three validated assessment tools. Four hundred and forty-six documents were screened using pre-defined inclusion criteria, resulting in the inclusion of thirteen studies. The studies were conducted between 2012 and 2022 primarily in Global North countries (e.g., USA, Canada, New Zealand, and European countries). Climate change concerns were typically associated with less positive attitudes towards reproduction and a desire and/or intent for fewer children or none at all. Four themes explaining this relationship were identified: uncertainty about the future of an unborn child, environmentalist views centred on overpopulation and overconsumption, meeting family subsistence needs, and environmental and political sentiments. The current evidence reveals a complex relationship between climate change concerns and reproductive decision-making, grounded in ethical, environmental, livelihood, and political considerations. Further research is required to better understand and address this issue with an intercultural approach, particularly among many highly affected Global South populations, to ensure comparability and generalisable results.

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“…A movement like BirthStrike, whose members communicated the urgency of the ongoing environmental crises by refusing to have children (Hunt, 2019), illustrated how living environmentally childfree might also be conceptualised as a type of environmental activism. Interestingly, the Birth-Strikers changed their name in 2020, and became a support group entitled "Grieving parenthood in the climate crisis: Channelling loss into climate justice" (McMullen & Dow, 2022). One of the reasons for this change was that they felt they lost control of the group's narrative, as the media and public attention was directed more towards demographic solutions and less towards the political changes the groups went on strike for.…”

Section: Environmentally Significant Behaviour and Interaction Of Imp...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Choosing to live environmentally childfree: private-sphere environmentalism, environmental activism, or both?

Nakkerud

2023

Curr Psychol

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Choosing not to have children can be considered a pro-environmental behaviour with a very high environmental impact. However, such impact calculations have been criticised for focusing only on private, individual actions. In the current article, the aim was to build on studies that have identified activist aspects of living environmentally childfree, and analyse whether this choice, in a Norwegian context, should be categorised as private-sphere environmentalism or environmental activism. This is explored through an analysis of interviews with 16 participants who have restricted reproduction due to environmental concerns, identifying three subthemes related to private-sphere environmentalism and three subthemes related to environmental activism. The results indicate that living environmentally childfree has central aspects of both private-sphere environmentalism and environmental activism, suggesting an interaction of different types of environmentally significant impacts. The implications of these results are that research on pro-environmental behaviour should look for an interaction of impacts and assess their significance beyond the immediate, individual level.

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Ringing the Existential Alarm: Exploring BirthStrike for Climate

Cited by 14 publications

References 24 publications

Reproductive geopolitics: Governing in/fertile bodies in Mexico’s past and present

Reproductive geopolitics: Governing in/fertile bodies in Mexico’s past and present

Climate change, mental health, and reproductive decision-making: A systematic review

Choosing to live environmentally childfree: private-sphere environmentalism, environmental activism, or both?

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