Théophile de Giraud (born 19 November 1968)[1] is a Belgian writer, philosopher and activist known for his work in antinatalism and childfree advocacy. Writing in French, he combines humor, provocation, and philosophical arguments to challenge societal norms around reproduction, ethics, and demography. Beyond his literary contributions, Giraud has engaged in high-profile activism, advocating for ecological responsibility and critiquing colonial legacies. His work has earned him recognition, including the Belgian Vocation Foundation award in 1998 and being named Childfree Man of the Year in 2013.
Literary work
Published in 2000, Giraud's first book, The Impertinence of Procreation, is a plea against human reproduction, using a mixture of humor and provocation.[2] Noted for his many eccentricities,[3] Giraud was listed in the anthology Les Fous Littéraires by the pataphysicianAndré Blavier.[4]
Giraud's essay The Art of Guillotining the Procreators: Anti-Natalist Manifesto, published in 2006, is a rewrite of his first work.[5] The central message of the work is "If you love children, don't create them".[6] After having tried to show that life is only pain[7] and that ethics is incompatible with reproduction,[8][9] Giraud argued for school training for parenthood, adoption and a procreation strike to end the reproduction imposed by patriarchy.[7][8] He cited many classical authors to illustrate his points.[10]
In a different register, Giraud described as a "dandy punk in rupture",[11] published in 2008, a poetic essay on the cold wave entitled "Cold Love, Satanic Sex and Funny Suicide", with a preface written by Jean-Luc De Meyer, singer of Front 242.[12] Through numerous extracts of songs, he reviews several themes of the cold wave movement and the origin of Gothic movement, such as the love of sex and death, the hatred of the family and even the celebration of the end of the world and the human race;[12] all with a humorous and inventive style.[13]
Giraud also contributed to the collective book Fewer, More Happy: The Urgency to Rethink Demography, collated by Michel Sourrouille.[14]
Activism
A figure of the antinatalism and childfree movement,[15] Giraud is one of the co-creators of Non-Parents Day, celebrated between 2009 and 2011, alternately in Brussels and Paris.[16] In 2008, he covered a statue of Leopold II in Brussels with red paint, to denounce the public valorisation of the king who established the colonial system of the Belgian Congo.[17] In 2012, he organised a "denatalist" event in Paris to bring attention to the overpopulation taboo and to the value of refusing to give birth for ecological reasons.[18][19]
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