How Casual Sex Had Led to a 'Demographic Winter' in Spain?

The leading figure in the country’s populist Vox party, Juan García-Gallardo, claimed this week that the prevalence of casual sex has sparked a “demographic winter” in many countries in Spain.

The Vice President of the Junta of Castile and León stated that sex is for procreation not for having fun, saying young people having sex for pleasure has led to the depopulation of rural Spain.

He criticized those who weren’t able to get “up at night to give a bottle” to their babies.

According to him, those people prefer, instead, to travel and live in a state of “eternal adolescence,” and “dedicate their existence to satisfying their sexual desires.”

“I’m not sure if that pitch will prevent or encourage more people to have casual sex,” he added.

Juan García-Gallardo made these statements during the II Conference on Depopulation Demographic Winter: Causes and Solutions which the party celebrated at the headquarters of the Consultative Council of Castilla y León.

 

Hyper-sexualization

Juan García-Gallardo claimed on Thursday, June 30, 2022, that the “trivialization” of sex in Spain had led to a “demographic winter” in Zamora, a province that has lost 30,000 people during the last 20 years.

According to the leading figure in the country’s populist Vox party, it is expected to have Europe’s oldest population by 2033.

He said that having sex for pleasure rather than to make babies is the reason why people are leaving Spain's vast areas.

The Times quoted him as saying: “the demographic winter has been done a disservice by this hypersexualization of society, this trivialization of sex, this conversion of sex into an act of consumption because it has become an end in itself.”

At the conference, the leading Vox politician hit out at casual relationships, and blamed Spanish society for  its “hypersexualization,” saying young people are forgetting the “main purpose of sex.”

“When we forget that the main purpose of sex is procreation,” he says, “there are people who free themselves from the chains of family and marriage to dedicate their existence to satisfying their sexual desires.”

 

The Reasons Why?

Vast areas of Spain’s interior have been losing residents for decades, killing off many smaller villages completely. Over 20 years, Zamora which is a rural province in Costilla y León has lost 30,000 of its population.

In addition to the poor transport links and the lack of job opportunities, Juan García-Gallardo considers casual sex as influential in the problem of the population decline, he has referred to the "childhood of society, with the eternal teens.”

For him, men and women all share the same characteristics, they are irresponsible old-teenagers who do not want to bear the burdens of having children.

During his speech, he indicated that the current situation of population loss of “gender ideology, the demonization of the family as an institution, the designation of marriage as an oppressive legal institution and climate alarmism," are the major reasons why Spain is losing its people.

Though the ban on casual sex seems unexpected, there have been measures taken in recent years in order to stop the flow of those leaving rural communities. Many were paid and encouraged to live in certain rural towns.

“Couples for example can receive a grant of €3,000 to relocate to the village of Ponga in Asturias and receive an additional €3,000 for every child born there,” according to The Olive Press.

 

‘Culture of Death’

The politician continued to say that the “culture of death” may be the main reason for Spain's demographic crisis; he meant that having a baby was no longer a problem for unmarried couples as they have already planned for the great solution: abortion.

He has pointed to the “joy of people who have made a firm commitment to life” after the Supreme Court of the United States “struck down this right.”

Among the economic causes of the demographic crisis, he pointed to the state of autonomies, “in which there are regions that are more loyal to the nation than others and that loyalty is punished for the benefit of those governed by separatists.”

Regarding the lack of policies ensuring families' well-being, especially in Castilla y León, the politician confirmed that direct aid for births and tax incentives have already been approved with the aim of encouraging couples to give births in rural areas.

The vice president has also linked this dilemma to the fact that the last generations have always lived in crisis, so “they have the real feeling of less purchasing power which leads many people to precariousness and discourages family formation, marriage and makes it difficult to save and access housing.”