The Prenzlauerbergers are dying out

[imomus]

Here's an image of a wallpaper shop. Not your typical wallpaper shop, admittedly; this one looks more like a hip record store, strips of retro wallpaper in the window taking the place of the latest indie releases on boutique labels like Tomlab or Staubgold. ExtraTapete is in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. And standing before the store admiring its tasteful paper designs you can see one of the well-educated, well-dressed young women who make up a large percentage of the area's population.



Ah, Prenzlauer Berg! Lovely, leafy Prenzlauer Berg! Place of elegant cafes, organic vegetable markets, Slow Life and push-chairs. It's where I am right now, and as I write I can hear the voices of children on the stair. Children are the Little Princes of Prenzlauer Berg. They strut around astride little wooden bikes -- ethical toys! -- or perch on the back of the big black Dutch bicycles their parents ride up and down the sacrosanct cycle paths. They're usually toddlers, cute and cool and so German, relaxed bobo hippy children. Their parents seem to be self-employed; they're always ready to meet their kids at pre-school at 3pm and take them to play in the gardens on Helmholtz Platz.

Prenzlauer Berg is Berlin's yuppie baby boom area, the place where cool 20- and 30-somethings come to breed. It's where my friends Eric and Antonia live, with their children Lucas and Roxy. It's where other couple-friends of mine have headed to spawn, sooner or later, little Berlin-lings and Berlin-ettes, new baby Berliners.

But, according to an article in last week's Exberliner, the Germans are dying out. They're dying out because they're failing to reach the "replacement level" of 2.1 births per couple. And it's precisely in districts like Prenzlauer Berg that they're dying out fastest, for Prenzlauer Berg is full of university graduates, the group least keen to reproduce.

"Prenzlauer Berg's reported baby boom is a myth, according to the Berlin Institute for Demography, attributable largely to journalists misinterpreting birth rate figures and seeing playgrounds teeming with toddlers," Exberliner reports. "The Berlin Institute says Prenzlauer Berg is in reality one of Berlin's least fertile districts. Just 35 children per every 1000 women were born there in 2003.... Steffen Kröhnert of the Berlin Institute says that Prenzlauer Berg's figures look high at first glance because the district is home to a disproportionately large number of young women of child-bearing age. (There are twice as many women of this age [15-40] in Prenzlauer Berg as there are in Cloppenburg, for example.) "What this means is that it took double the number of women in Prenzlauer Berg to produce approximately the same amount of children as there are in Cloppenburg," says Kröhnert. "If this trend were to continue in the long term, then the number of people in Prenzlauer Berg would decrease by half with every generation. This can hardly be described as a model for the future."

Now, I seem to be attracted to places with this sort of dwindling birth scenario. As Marxy liked to point out back in his "terminal decline" days, Japan also has a serious demographic problem, with the old staying alive ever-longer, and not enough young coming along to replace them. In a recent BBC Radio 4 documentary about Japan, the message was clear: Japanese women in their 20s and 30s are increasingly preferring lapdogs to babies. It's certainly true of my friend Reika.

Of course, I'm not helping either. I haven't reproduced. I'm not sure I want to. Much as I adore my sister's kids (and, with three, she's actually increasing the population of Scotland), I don't feel children would be compatible with my glamorously uprooted lifestyle. The way I live now, I can't afford them. The Momuses are dying out, just like the Germans and the Japanese.

I take comfort in the idea, though, that, even if there are no Momuses, Germans or Japanese in the world at some future point, the idea of Momus-ness, German-ness and Japanese-ness will still be available, as essences, cultural identities, ways of thinking, living, eating, being. Synthetic lifestyles for the children who are now being born to plug into, should they want to. Of course, should they do that effectively, these kids will, themselves, fall into genetic decline, becoming, as Morrissey sings, "the last of the family line". That's something university graduates, lapdog lovers, Prenzlauer Bergers and Momuses have in common: we're all "sterilizers".

Comments

[lolitard.livejournal.com]

Oh, so glad to see the rabbit again.

Ideas and art have the same inherent desire to propagate and thrive through the ages as little human babies do, so I guess that's kind of beautiful if the flesh is not willing.

[cityramica.livejournal.com]

my body can't withstand the hormonal and psychological stressors of pregnancy so Virgil and I are opting for building lifelike robots instead. It's the next natural step after our Nintendog ran away.

I'm rather sad about the terminal decline of Filipina New York Jews. I'm not making babies in the name of that though.

[cityramica.livejournal.com]

or maybe i'll just pop one out and name it Momus.

[el-normal.livejournal.com]

Did you walk up to that woman and ask if she was educated or was it her body fat/height ratio or haircut?

Or, a friend?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Anyone that age, dressed like that, on that street, gazing covetously into that wallpaper shop is highly educated. You're going to have to just trust me on this one.

[(Anonymous)]

What does Hisae think of your non-breeding inclinations? Does she not want kids either?

[riotdorrrk.livejournal.com]

i never wanted to have kids, so wouldn't you know - one happened... i don't want to use the word 'accident', but that's what it was. it's an uncomfortable situation...

[nickink.livejournal.com]

Nice timing - my second daughter was born 2 days ago. Just another 0.1 to go then!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Con-brat-ulations!

[bikerbar.livejournal.com]

Babies -- thematically quite springy

I've got one on the way. The breeder people (when you speak about heteros this way it sounds judgementally gay, y'know)are always busy. But I think its only natural the population is falling now. Some people are predicting serious doom on the not-so-far horizon, so if the planet hits a die-off and the population is seriously culled - its better for the environment. So we give birth and die, and populate our minds with dreams and hopeful thoughts in the meantime, otherwise we might go screaming like an inuit across the tundra.

As to cyber-identities, and germanness as a cyberidentity, I don't really see that happening. We are already magpies of culture, but to be a cybergerman would pale in comparison to having been born and raised there. There will just be less Germans, less humans .. I don't see anything wrong with that, even as I add my own seed to the future.

Prenzlauerberger

[(Anonymous)]

Nick,
are you expecting an homogenization in the town's "feel" during the football world cup? it looks like it's a very loud event for such a quiet city
f

[(Anonymous)]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[henryperri.livejournal.com]

This is the big challenge. When people become educated and affluent, they become selfish and act against the interests of civilization.

Who actually wants kids? I certainly don't. They're great leverage in a divorce situation, but that's about it. They scratch up the leather in the BMW, stain the carpets in the home, shit their pants, keep you from being able to go out to dinner parties/bars, and make you look like a hypocrite.

In previous generations, kids were good for a few things: taking care of you in your infirmity, helping out on the farm/business once they turn 8 years old, and acting as entertainment/distraction before the advent of TV, the internet, and the gym membership.

A good portion of these low-birthers are also areligious or even irreligious. Hey, I think religion is silly, too. But I also realize that it helps keep people generally in line by providing them with a moral code and a sense of responsibility. Some day I will have my 2.1 kids, because I know the future of Western Civilization depends on people like us to do so. And while my children probably won't be going to church, they're going to learn why religion is important to society as a whole so as not to irresponsibly disparage it in public.

[cheapsurrealist.livejournal.com]

In previous generations, kids were good for a few things: taking care of you in your infirmity,

What!? They don't do that anymore? Shit, I just wasted the last 19 years of my life. I could have been living like Momus.

[shirash.livejournal.com]

Singaporeans are also failing to replace-breed.. so the govt implemented a monetary incentive. in the past year, I've seen more pregnant women here than in America. Apparently pregnancy is a sign of happiness...

[cheapsurrealist.livejournal.com]

The way I live now, I can't afford them.

Just throw another potato in the pot.

Regarding the photo of you and your bunny: Do your wood floors have a rustic finish or are you lying in a puddle of rabbit urine?

[rodneywhodunnit.livejournal.com]

You chose two cities that were rebuilt after WWII and in a sense the most post-industrial cities in the world. They are also cities belonging to two of the three Axis States, getting into the colonial game a little to late and in many ways "over-compensated." Ironically, they are now the two most pacifist cities in the two most pacifist countries in the world. I understand there was the agreement after WWII that they really couldn't have full fledge armies, but there's something more. is it a deep sense of shame of having lost or failed or is it their conscience.

Takashi Murakami (in reference to his art and how there's an uneasiness that comes through w/ everything he makes) brought a little of this sense up in the NYT Magazine article last year, about the emasculation of Japan after WWII and how the country was reduced in a way to a childlike amnesia because people were not willing to look at past actions/atrocities, and maybe more importantly the sense of being defeated and not victorious.

I haven't stayed in Berlin. I love Tokyo. It's an odd mix of ancient and post-apocalyptic, post-industrial, traditional forms juxtaposed against things that are free-form.

[vinylboy20.livejournal.com]

Hey, the bunny's back! I just got a little rabbit named Otis this weekend, eight weeks old. I wish I could let him out of his cage more, but he has yet to pick a particular peeing spot.

[bricology.livejournal.com]

"Sterilizers" or "breeders"?--cripes--are those my only options? My wife and I like to consider ourselves "child-free", and we couldn't be happier with our personal lot. The drive to reproduce is, after all, not fueled by anything altruistic; it comes down to peer and familial pressures, notions about the superiority of ones own genes (relative to those being perpetuated by the "lesser" folks), the desire for the ultimate accessory, and so forth.

Every related motivator is selfish, just as it is selfish to go to a dog breeder and commission a new purebred pup rather than adopting one of the tens of thousands wasting away at the pound, or being euthanized. For those who feel overwhelmed by parenting pressures, there are literally millions of unwanted children in China, India, Brazil and elsewhere who would greatly appreciate adoption. But no--they wouldn't have grandpa Bob's nose, now would they?

Current trends are skewing populations away from the well-educated, and I am sad to see the Germans and Japanese (two cultures I admire more than most) in population decline while other cultures are breeding at unchecked rates. But what can be done? Maintaining target population levels can't be justification for pushing the global population levels ever higher. We might just have to be satisfied with making other, non-genetic contributions to the future of the species.

[trini-naenae.livejournal.com]

I agree with you. Should I ever choose to be a parent, I want to adopt. I admit part of it is because I'm selfish and I don't want to have to be pregnant. But I figure that, really, there are tons of kids out there who don't have parents, or are stuck in foster situations (which tends to be fairly miserable). I can't see why I can't reduce the number of parent-less children out there.

What really scares me is the amount of Americans who use fertility drugs. I understand that they want their own children, but their doing their bodies, their wallets, and society a disservice in their desire to reproduce. It seems like there is such a small amount that wish to adopt.

i will name my donkey nick

[(Anonymous)]

since you used my middle name to name your rabbit....also john fashion flesh started the bunny thing. i recall his bunnies' name...bun-bun.

[cheapsurrealist.livejournal.com]

John Gibson thinks you Euro's aren't holding up your end of the bargain. (http://mediamatters.org/items/200605120006)

[(Anonymous)]

What a racist fuck :(

[trini-naenae.livejournal.com]

"Much as I adore my sister's kids (and, with three, she's actually increasing the population of Scotland), I don't feel children would be compatible with my glamorously uprooted lifestyle. The way I live now, I can't afford them."

It's a hard thing to be 'poor' and moving around a lot as a kid. I should know, that was my life as a child. Children can handle the moving fairly well, but it add to the difficulties of growing up. People often tell me I'm lucky to have lived in a lot of places, but I'm not so sure. I delt with it, but it was *hard* and having to make new friends every couple of years was probably not the best thing. Long term relationships outside my family is a hard thing, and I don't view that as something healthy. Identity is also much more confusing. Who do you relate to when you're stuck in the middle?

That said, other people have lived through it much better than I have, and absolutely love the life. But it's complicated.

It's a good choice to not reproduce. I don't think enough people think about what kind of life they are putting thier future children into when they decide to have children.

i wish

[(Anonymous)]

i wish i could give birth of kitten or puppy than human baby. cause new born babies arent cute.. i like kids though...i dont know if i am going to have a kids. well,havent met right man, right father, in right time.
could you explain what is "momus-ness"? fumiko-ness can be really like old woman staying in her small house with pints of tea talking to cats.
i have "momus" friend in myspace, is that real you?
jya-ne- matane-.
fumiko

Re: i wish

[rwillmsen.livejournal.com]

Are you a boy?

[(Anonymous)]

are you still with your girlfriend???
does she want kids?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

I'm "preparing the nest" for a new lease on our relationship. No chicks planned.

Fertilizer...

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,
Voilà une chronique qui me donne la saudade. Il y a trois ans, je suis tombée amoureuse d'un allemand désabusé qui rêvait de laisser un patrimoine (plutôt culturel) mais se trouvait trop vieux (under 40!) pour avoir un enfant et pas certain d'avoir la fibre paternelle tout en regrettant l'extinction de son peuple.
Je lui ai demandé de me transmettre la liste de tout ce qui avait pu le marquer pour absorber et transmettre un peu de son héritage.
Depuis je lis d'autres livres, je regarde d'autres films, j'écoute beaucoup plus de musique classique et je m'intéresse de plus près à la culture allemande - malheureusement sans parler la langue de Goethe, ce n'est pas aisé :-(.
En tous les cas, la transmission a échoué.
Je lui ai demandé de me faire un enfant que j'élèverai avec mon amie V. Il n'a pas souhaité, car si enfant il y a, il veut en prendre soin aussi et considère qu'il faut un père et une mère. Même s'il n'est pas borné, il n'imagine pas deux "mères" pour un même enfant. Moi, j'aime V et je ne n'imagine pas vivre sans elle. Lui a une compagne qu'il ne veut pas quitter. Le chapitre est clos.
Ta chronique me rappelait ses propos et je pensais que dans un monde plus généreux Momus aussi pourrait être "fertilizer"...

Caroline

By the bye, Momus -malgré lui- a permis de sauver une vie (Nicolas hélas, je ne le connais pas). Oui, il y a quelques années je pense que sans tes chansons et les mondes possibles qu'elles véhiculaient, j'aurais mis fin à mes jours. Je sais ça a l'air ridicule et outrancier d'écrire des choses pareilles, toutefois c'est la vérité.
Alors MERCI.

Re: Fertilizer...

[(Anonymous)]

ExtraTapete sounds french, and could be rendered by "SuperFaggit" in english. Good lord, Prenz is sinking.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

we're all sterilizers

Of course, there are sterilizers and sterilizers (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5037158.stm)...

[imomus.livejournal.com]

The Fertility Bust (http://www.economist.com/World/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=5494593) is an interesting article in the Economist on this subject. It mentions the novel this entry is named after:

"Günter Grass wrote a novel, “Headbirths”, in 1982, about Harm and Dörte Peters, “a model couple” who disport themselves on the beaches of Asia rather than invest time and trouble in bringing up a baby. “They keep a cat”, writes Mr Grass, “and still have no child.” The novel is subtitled “The Germans are dying out”."

[imomus.livejournal.com]

To lay out the binary:

Births / headbirths

Reproduction / cultural reproduction

Genes / memes

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

Don't you find it worrying that the people who pass the most of their genes on are the most inclined to literal-mindedness, dogmatic beliefs and intolerance of alternative lifestyles and beliefs? If any of these have genetic factors contributing to them (and it's likely that they do, to some extent), a world populated by the descendents of Wahhabiists and Pentecostals will be a less welcoming place for those who choose to become Momuses. If they get the choice; a lot of the most avid breeders are partisans in a culture war against things they consider decadent, and, given the chance, would gladly put the world's libraries and art spaces to the torch if it'd protect their children from being "corrupted" from the one true path.

Perhaps the whole system is cyclical, with society becoming more liberal, the liberals and bohemians all dropping out and dying out, and the next generation of reactionaries lighting the funeral pyre for their entire demimonde, until it rolls around again and the next generation of Momuses invents it all anew.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Your analysis exaggerates the closed-mindedness of ordinary people and also implies that this is a recent development which we'll only see the fruits of a few years down the line. Take away that "things are getting worse" angle and you have to admit that libraries and art spaces have so far not been torched by the normals, who do allow some of their offspring to "flower" as artists, homosexuals etc rather than simply continuing the relay race. Art's flowering does also benefit the breeders' lives, you know, even if they don't have much time for it themselves!

[intergalactim.livejournal.com]

I know it is on the other side of town, but your post reminds me of this photo:

This is me with my parents in Berlin in 1982, visiting Jagdschloss in the Grunewald.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Ah, what wonderful hippies!

Rabbits

[(Anonymous)]

Nick,

This is totally off topic, but your bunny's almost the exact same shape and size as your head (flipped around though). It's ear provides an interesting visual echo to your eye patch, too!

By the way, aren't rabbits symbols of fertility?