Théophile de Giraud

Théophile de Giraud (born 19 November 1968)[1] is a Belgian writer, philosopher and activist of French language.

Théophile de Giraud
Born (1968-11-19) 19 November 1968
Namur, Belgium[1]
NationalityBelgian
Known forAntinatalism, childfree and political activism
AwardsBelgian Vocation Foundation (1998)
Childfree Man of the Year (2013)
Websitetheophiledegiraud.e-monsite.com

Literary work

Published in 2000, De 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] De Giraud was listed in the anthology Les Fous Littéraires by the pataphysician André Blavier.[4]

De 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] De 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, De 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]

De 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] De 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]

Awards

Selected works
  • The Impertinence of Procreation, Brussels, self-published, 2000.
  • One Hundred Necromantic Haikus, preface by Jean-Pierre Verheggen, foreword and afterword by André Stas, Spa, ed. Galopin, 2004 (ISBN 9782916086071).
  • The Art of Guillotining Procreators: An Anti-natalist Manifesto, Nancy, ed. Le Mort-Qui-Trompe, 2006 (ISBN 978-2916502007).
  • Diogenesis, Fluorescent Poems to Wait Between Two Genocides, Brussels, ed. Maelström, 2008 (ISBN 978-2-9303-5587-0).
  • Cold Love, Satanic Sex and Funny Suicide, preface by Jean-Luc De Meyer, Nancy, ed. Le Mort-Qui-Trompe, 2008 (ISBN 9782916502076).
  • Aphorisms for the Use of Future Familicides, preface by Corinne Maier, foreword by Serge Poliart, Brussels, ed. Maelström, 2013 (ISBN 2-9165-0200-9).

See also

References
  1. Noualhat, Laure (2010-08-06). "Trop mioche, la vie". Libération.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  2. "En bref". La Libre.be (in French). 2004-01-23. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  3. "De l'impertinence de procréer – Théophile de Giraud". Le Carnet et les Instants (in French). November 2000 – January 2001.
  4. Blavier, André (2000). Les Fous Littéraires (in French). Paris: Editions des Cendres. pp. 924–925. ISBN 9782867420948.
  5. Watelet, Vincent (September–October 2006). "L'Art de guillotiner les procréateurs". Indications (in French).
  6. Detaille, Stéphane (2008-09-11). "Théophile de Giraud - Le Soir". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  7. Allard, Eric (June 2006). "Le Dernier Tabou". Remue-Méninges (in French).
  8. Akerma, Karim (2013-09-27). "Théophile de Giraud: L'art de guillotiner les procréateurs". Tabula Rasa (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  9. Tremblay, Francois (2014-10-01). "Review of L'Art de Guillotiner Les Procreateurs by Theophile de Giraud". The Prime Directive. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  10. Giraud, Daniel (April 2010). "L'Art de guillotiner les procréateurs, Théophile de Giraud". Pages Insulaires (in French).
  11. Chenot, Francis (Spring 2009). "Théophile de Giraud – Diogenèses". L’Arbre à paroles. Amay.
  12. Maltaverne, Patrice (Autumn 2008). "De Giraud: Autre forme de manifeste". Le Mensuel Littéraire et Poétique (in French).
  13. de Giraud, Théophile (January 2009). "Cold Love, Satanic Sex and Funny Suicide". PPPZine (Punk Post-Punk Magazine) (in French).
  14. "La surpopulation, trop peu de monde en parle. Rencontre avec Théophile de Giraud". Causes Toujours (in French). 2014-09-19. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  15. "Noi, mai padri". la Repubblica.it (in Italian). 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  16. Chafwehé, François (2009-04-18). "Le 16 mai, jour de la fête des… non-parents?". La Capitale (in French).
  17. "Congo: Histoire blanche, voix noires, zones grises" (PDF). Télé-Moustique (in French). 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  18. Saylor, Audrey (2012-05-25). ""Ils veulent tuer tout le monde": feu sur Nokidland". L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  19. "Happening au Sacré-Coeur!". France Inter (in French). 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  20. Carroll, Laura (2013-08-01). "Happy International Childfree Day! Announcing 2013 Childfree Woman and Man of the Year". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
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