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 retirement.”

* Enjoyment

* “By no means guaranteed”

* Legacy

* Lackluster desire to pass on genes

* Philosophy Tube notes that her career and acting legacy can’t be passed on, so that’s a point against having kids

* Notes that trans identity cannot be genetically passed on

* Refers to Sonnet No. 2 as a steelman but COMPLETELY overlooks Sonnet 18, which also neutralizes the acting legacy argument, too!

Talks about “Castration Movie”

* A movie about horrible trans people in which the protagonist, Traps, struggles with the knowledge that kids will no longer be possible due to gender-transition-driven infertility

* I think Philosophy Tube uses this essay to:

* Be supportive of other transgender media efforts

* Emphasize a major throughline in the essay about how gender norms shape expectations around motherhood and fatherhood, and how trans and queer people can feel especially conflicted about these roles.

What Philosophy Tube Misses About Why People Don’t Have Kids

* The absence of the economic benefit of having kids

* The importance of establishing an objective function

* Culture

* People starting later

Why Philosophy Tube Did This

She is not actually seriously considering kids because:

* It’s too expensive, especially for someone who is trans

* “The world is dangerous”

I think ultimately it comes down to Abby Thorne just valuing other things, and a key element of the essay is indeed recognition that “I just don’t want to” is a valid reason not to have children, and that people who don’t want kids should not feel pressured into it.

What I think this is all about:

* I think she feels insecure about not having kids and that insecurity was worked out in this two-part series

* I feel fairly confident this is the case because in my pre-Malcolm state, when presented with the issue, I would have been like: “Hey, good for the families who want kids; they should do them—I have nothing to do with this.”

What Does This Reveal About Why People Transition?

People often turn to academic research to determine why people transition and whether they’re transitioning for “genuine reasons” (e.g. ‘I am a man born in a woman’s body’) or due to social contagion.

For example: A new study of 957 detransitioners in the U.S. and Canada that identifies four distinct patterns of why people detransition and how they feel about their transitions, then reflects on what this implies for social contagion, detransition politics, and trans health norms

Interrupted Gender Transitions and Detransitions in the USA and Canada

Published: 05 November 2025

* The study used latent class analysis on survey data from people who had stopped, shifted, or reversed a gender transition (or wanted to but could not), recruited widely online and through LGBTQ+/gender clinics. It identifies four groups: “satisfied” detransitioners, coerced detransitioners, “complicated cases,” and “regretters,” each with different reasons for detransition, mental health profiles, and demographic patterns

* In this study’s sample of people who interrupted or reversed a gender transition, the most typical profile was someone assigned female at birth (AFAB), often still identifying as transgender or gender diverse, whose detransition was closely tied to mental health factors and changes in gender self-identity.

* In this sample, the single most commonly endorsed broad reason for detransition was mental health–related factors and changes in self-identity, which together defined the largest latent class (Class A, 316 of 957 participants)

Ultimately, people detransition for all sorts of reasons and the article is not a strong “gotcha” for anyone in terms of damning evidence, HOWEVER, I think Philosophy Tube’s video is a stronger gotcha for the cultural contagion hypothesis for the rise in gender transition.

Episode Transcript

Simone Collins: Hello Malcolm. I’m excited to be with you today because Philosophy Tube did a two-parter on our turf pun intended topic Yes. About demographic collapse and having kids in the, in the first part, titled You’re Wrong About Birth Rates and Aging Populations which we covered in a s