Join Malcolm and Simone Collins in this lively episode of Based Camp as they dive deep into Abigail Thorn’s (Philosophy Tube) latest video, “Why the Thought of Having Kids Freaks Me Out.” From a pronatalist perspective, they unpack Thorn’s arguments on demographic collapse, trans identity as a potential social contagion, global crises like Gaza, misinformation on birth control, and the entitlement of expecting societal “reparations” without contributing through parenthood. With humor, sharp critiques, and counterpoints rooted in cultural innovation, legacy, and family values, the Collinses explore why Thorn’s philosophy might reveal more about internal conflicts than solid reasoning. Whether you’re into philosophy, trans representation in pronatalism, or just love a good debate, this episode challenges urban monoculture norms and champions innovative approaches to family-building. Don’t miss their personal anecdotes, Shakespeare sonnet showdowns, and a nod to ContraPoints! Episode Outline & Links The Gist Philosophy Tube did a two-parter on our turf in that she covered demographic collapse and having kids * In the first part, titled “ You’re Wrong About Birth Rates & Aging Populations ” Philosophy Tube explored demographic collapse * We did an episode on it . * In this second video, she covered “ Why The Thought of Having Kids Freaks Me Out ” * Strange Aeons and Vivian Wilson (Elon Musk’s trans child) make appearances (among others) * Obviously we have to cover this too. Having kids is kind of our thing. * In general, I think that with this video, Philosophy Tube is trying bring some trans representation to the surging debate about pronatalism and demographic collapse * And while I had hoped we might be presented with some innovative, interesting proposals, especially involving advanced reprotech * Instead, we are presented with an astounding level of entitlemenet—like, take the normal level of urban monoculture entitlement (i.e. how dare you suggest I give up vacations and takeout to have kids) and amp it up to a new level (literally: forget contributing to society through well-raised children; I deserve reparations for the state not funding my gender transition) Let’s get into it! Philosophy Tube’s Video Essay The dramatic bit of the video is that for much of it Philosophy Tube dresses as a mermaid as an analogy to being trans and pontificates from a giant clamshell. To put it diplomatically, the video ultimately legitimizes choosing not to have children while also critiquing the systems that make parenthood feel terrifying or impossible for many who might otherwise want it. Right off the bat, the focus is on philosophy (fair, because this is Philosophy Tube) and not brass tacks. Thorn references Why Have Children? The Ethical Debate, a Book by Christine Overall, and also points people to explore David Benatar’s work. She leans heavily on a UN report when exploring people’s reasons for not having babies She explores the following factors on the yes/no-to-kids spectrum: * Global crises and worries about the future * Philosophy Tube connects fears about having kids to global crises such as war (especially Gaza) and the targeting or dehumanization of marginalized groups, including trans and autistic people, which makes the idea of raising a child feel unsafe or ethically fraught. * Climate change * She discounted this as a factor as it’s not up to her * But she cites that people are concerned about their carbon footprints * Fun aside: She indicated that BP ultimately introduced the concept of carbon footprint; she says BP paid hundreds of millions of dollars to popularize the concept * Misinformation * She argues people are being misinformed about birth control and becoming pregnant by mistake after being scared off of taking birth control * She decries anti-vaccine rhetoric coming out of the Trump Administration * The future * Concerns about unemployment, housing, and cost. * Philosophy Tube notes that even though she lives in the UK, access to services she would need to use (e.g. IVF in order to have kids as a trans woman) * Moral obligation * How many religious groups feel a religious imperative to have kids * The idea of having a moral obligation to have kids if you don’t want one [BAD BAD IDEA], e.g. Jews after the Holocaust ought to have children even if they didn’t want them * The idea that having kids pays for the elder care of one’s country’s citizens, so one is obligated to have kids * Philosophy Tube sees other people’s kids subsidizing her health care in old age is “reparations” because she is trans and the government does not pay for all the gender transition care (i.e. she and other trans people deserve to be paid for in old age despite not having kids and through them paying into the system because they did not get the gender transition care they wanted the government to payroll) * As Philosophy Tube puts it in the episode: “you’re goddamn right breeders are going to be paying for my retiremen
