Salomé Saqué returns in Libération to “the sudden collective hysteria around [son] uterus »

DESIRE FOR A CHILD – A short line followed by a media storm. In his book Be young and shut up published in 2022, journalist and author Salomé Saqué writes that faced with climate change, her eco-anxiety prevents her from considering having children. A mention “anecdotal” for her, but which triggered “a flood of insults, reproachful messages, indignant comments on social networks” in the months that followed.

In a forum for Liberation published this January 21, the essayist returned to this event which categorized her as “the one who does not want to procreate”. The opportunity to recall that this label is “far from reflecting reality”. Because as the years pass, Salomé Saqué explains feeling “emerge a fairly powerful desire for a child”. But for her, as for many adults of her generation, the question of parenthood does not depend only on desire.

The desire for children and “deprivation”

“I document the state of the world every day. Between the rise of authoritarianism, ecological collapse and the surge in international tensions, I am deeply convinced that the times will continue to darken. In these conditions, I still do not see myself giving birth, but I experience it more and more as a deprivation”expresses the journalist with transparency. A « nuance » which never ceases to trigger anger and contempt when she expresses it.

However, the facts are there: in 2024, France recorded its lowest number of births since 1946, far from the “demographic rearmament” called by Emmanuel Macron. Faced with increasing precariousness among young people, mental health in crisis and the absence of hope regarding the progress of the world, both ecologically and politically, how can we envisage peaceful parenting?

This is the question posed by Salomé Saqué in her column, emphasizing that despite the numerous reactions that this speech arouses, few people want to provide concrete answers. “With hindsight, I realize that it is very practical to make us appear as selfish servants, it avoids working to offer us a society allowing us to find a little hope in the future. In any case, that’s how I explain this sudden collective hysteria around my uterus,” she writes.

More than two years after the publication of his book, this speech still seems to provoke hateful reactions. On Instagram, the journalist shared screenshots of insulting messages in reaction to her “doubts on the subject”. “Instead of blaming those who are too worried to procreate (me), we should work to build a society that gives us a little more hope and allows those who want it (and only those who want it, thank you) to have children more peacefully”, she pointed out in the story.

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