Front and Back Covers, Volume 40, Number 6. December 2024

Front and back cover caption, volume 40 issue 6

BIRTH AS A GAMBLE

The front cover shows a Japanese gachapon vending machine, a device that dispenses capsule toys at random. In Japan, the term oya-gacha (parent-gacha) has emerged as a metaphor for the arbitrary circumstances of birth, appearing even in Japan's 2023 national university entrance exam. As Jiang demonstrates in this issue, anti-natalists have adopted this metaphor to critique procreation, comparing the odds of being born to advantaged parents to the slim chance of obtaining valuable items from these machines.

The human figures visible inside the capsules represent what anti-natalists describe as the uncontrollable variables of existence: social status, genetic inheritance and geographical location. Japanese anti-natalists have specifically chosen the gacha metaphor because it symbolizes a mechanism operating purely by chance, producing both fortune and disappointment.

This interpretation reflects broader secular shifts in how procreation is understood, moving away from religious frameworks of divine planning toward views emphasizing randomness and parental responsibility.

The machine's mechanical nature illustrates contemporary anxieties about technological control over reproduction, which Jiang explores through cases like IVF (in vitro fertilization) and antenatal screening. These developments have intensified ethical debates about procreation in an era of climate crisis and growing existential risks.

Back cover caption, volume 40 issue 6

DECOLONIZING CHAGOS?

A young Chagossian girl learns the technique of coconut grating from a community leader who also grew up in exile, embodying the intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge that has sustained the displaced Chagossian community. From the late 18th century onwards, coconut plantations dominated the Chagos Islands' economy, with each family processing hundreds of coconuts daily to produce copra (dried coconut kernel) and coconut oil. These skills, passed down through generations, formed the backbone of Chagossian society.

When British authorities forcibly removed the islanders between 1965 and 1973 to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia, they disrupted not just lives and livelihoods but entire systems of cultural knowledge transmission.

The October 2024 agreement between the UK and Mauritius recognizes Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, yet ensures continued US military presence on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years. For many Chagossians, particularly those from Diego Garcia, this represents an incomplete victory that may still prevent a return to their natal islands. Nevertheless, through five decades of exile, Chagossian communities in Mauritius, Seychelles, the UK and elsewhere have maintained their distinctive cultural practices and traditions.

This image captures both loss and resilience: while the coconut plantations that once sustained Chagossian life lie abandoned, the knowledge of processing coconuts – along with other cultural practices – continues to be passed down to new generations. As the community navigates an uncertain future between colonial displacement and hopes of return, such moments of cultural transmission represent both a connection to their homeland and an act of resistance against the erasure of their way of life.