| |
| author |
Grace Remondelli
| | title |
Wombs as Weapons: Pronatalism as an Instrument of Authoritarianism under Trump
| | abstract |
The second Trump administration has developed an expansive pronatalist political
agenda that intends to coerce women into having children. Federal policies, funding changes, and
rhetoric have restricted the reproductive autonomy of pregnancy-capable people. Additionally,
pronatalism under the second Trump administration has been implemented alongside
antinatalism targeted at LGBTQ+ people and non-white immigrant communities. Rather than
supporting reproductive choice, the second Trump administration has reinforced an exclusionary
pronatalist culture rooted in patriarchy and white supremacy. This thesis analyzes the methods
and goals of Trump's pronatalist movement to determine its central political ideology. An
interdisciplinary approach combining theoretical, historical, political, and rhetorical analyses
determines that the second Trump administration's pronatalist agenda is most congruent with
fascist ideology, and is indicative of a right-wing authoritarian movement in the U.S.
government. The Trump administration's pronatalist agenda has been overtly modeled after those
of historically fascist regimes, particularly in its use of pronatalism to promote the births of only
certain ethnic and religious groups in order to construct a nationalized, homogenous population
for an increasingly authoritarian nation. At the time of this publication, only a year and a half
into Trump's second term, pronatalism is being actively incorporated into federal actions,
making it a dynamic ideological force. This thesis serves as an initial analysis of what is likely to
become a much more extensive and complex pronatalist movement as Trump continues his
second term.
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.A. (2026)
|
| advisor |
Chelsea Ebin
|
| full text | GRemondelli.pdf |
| |
