Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable Population
Social and environmental justice organisations have silenced discourse on human overpopulation due to fear of any association with reproductive coercion, but in doing so they have failed to acknowledge the oppressive role of pronatalism in undermining reproductive autonomy. Pronatalism, which compri...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The White Horse Press
2023-02-01
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| Series: | The Journal of Population and Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.whp-journals.co.uk/JPS/article/view/819 |
| _version_ | 1797837681662623744 |
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| author | Nandita Bajaj Kirsten Stade |
| author_facet | Nandita Bajaj Kirsten Stade |
| author_sort | Nandita Bajaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Social and environmental justice organisations have silenced discourse on human overpopulation due to fear of any association with reproductive coercion, but in doing so they have failed to acknowledge the oppressive role of pronatalism in undermining reproductive autonomy. Pronatalism, which comprises cultural and institutional forces that compel reproduction, is far more widespread, and as damaging to individual liberties as attempts to limit reproduction. The failure to recognise the enormity of pronatalism has led to the wholesale abandonment of voluntary, rights-based efforts toward a sustainable population despite widespread scientific agreement that population growth is a major driver of multiple cascading environmental crises. We examine the full range of patriarchal, cultural, familial, religious, economic and political pronatalist pressures, and argue that the reluctance to address population as a driver of the ecological crisis serves the very pronatalist forces that undermine reproductive autonomy. We posit that addressing overpopulation, and the pronatalism that drives it, must be central to international conservation and development efforts to elevate reproductive rights while also promoting planetary health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:28:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0113147aa5324253bfa279c3d0c285ef |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-5488 2398-5496 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:28:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | The White Horse Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Journal of Population and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-0113147aa5324253bfa279c3d0c285ef2023-04-28T09:04:45ZengThe White Horse PressThe Journal of Population and Sustainability2398-54882398-54962023-02-0171397010.3197/JPS.63799953906861793Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable PopulationNandita Bajaj0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0300-1573Kirsten Stade1Population Balance, Antioch UniversityPopulation BalanceSocial and environmental justice organisations have silenced discourse on human overpopulation due to fear of any association with reproductive coercion, but in doing so they have failed to acknowledge the oppressive role of pronatalism in undermining reproductive autonomy. Pronatalism, which comprises cultural and institutional forces that compel reproduction, is far more widespread, and as damaging to individual liberties as attempts to limit reproduction. The failure to recognise the enormity of pronatalism has led to the wholesale abandonment of voluntary, rights-based efforts toward a sustainable population despite widespread scientific agreement that population growth is a major driver of multiple cascading environmental crises. We examine the full range of patriarchal, cultural, familial, religious, economic and political pronatalist pressures, and argue that the reluctance to address population as a driver of the ecological crisis serves the very pronatalist forces that undermine reproductive autonomy. We posit that addressing overpopulation, and the pronatalism that drives it, must be central to international conservation and development efforts to elevate reproductive rights while also promoting planetary health.https://www.whp-journals.co.uk/JPS/article/view/819reproductive autonomypopulationenvironmentfertilitypronatalism |
| spellingShingle | Nandita Bajaj Kirsten Stade Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable Population The Journal of Population and Sustainability reproductive autonomy population environment fertility pronatalism |
| title | Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable Population |
| title_full | Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable Population |
| title_fullStr | Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable Population |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable Population |
| title_short | Challenging Pronatalism Is Key to Advancing Reproductive Rights and a Sustainable Population |
| title_sort | challenging pronatalism is key to advancing reproductive rights and a sustainable population |
| topic | reproductive autonomy population environment fertility pronatalism |
| url | https://www.whp-journals.co.uk/JPS/article/view/819 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nanditabajaj challengingpronatalismiskeytoadvancingreproductiverightsandasustainablepopulation AT kirstenstade challengingpronatalismiskeytoadvancingreproductiverightsandasustainablepopulation |