Carnival of Torrevieja: girls as sex objects

A Carnival troupe from the Spanish city of Torrevieja, made up of 68 people (including women and girls), paraded in a costume that simulated erotic underwear - suspender belts and nipple clamps - carrying LGBT+ pride flags.

The group, called Osadía (Boldness), participated in the carnival parade competition under the slogan “promise until you get in”, as a political satire. The jury decided it deserved finishing fourth with a 650 euro prize.

The city council considers that the parents of the girls in the troupe only wanted to criticise the political and social situation in the country. But in the face of this hypersexualisation of those girls (and women), from the perspective that really dignifies and puts women in their place, the biblical perspective, we strongly condemn that scene.

The eroticisation of girls is clearly the root of countless negative consequences for society and for the women. I outline seven of them:

1.- To sexualise girls is to perpetuate the stereotype of women as sexual objects.

2.- The hypersexualisation of girls is a violation of their right to dignity and respect for their image, even more so when they are minors and are not mature enough to understand or consent to have sexual relations or perform sexual acts that involve violence, even with sadomasochistic connotations as shown in the costume.

3.- It is child abuse. Where is the law for the protection of minors? They are handing these girls over to paedophiles. All this will lead to the decriminalisation of paedophilia and the lowering of the age of sexual consent.

4.- Hypersexualisation feeds the sexual commodification of women and girls, i.e. prostitution and pornography, in a country that is the first in Europe in prostitution consumption and third in the world, and every four hours a rape is reported.

5.- The hypersexualisation of girls and boys is not part of diversity and inclusion, but a part of the discourse of the LGTBI and pseudo-feminist lobby.

6.- It is one of the reasons why violence against women is increasing. Prevention and education are essential to eliminate violence against women. Eradicate machismo and micromachismo from everyday life, in whatever context we are in. Legislating against gender-based violence is essential, but the change has to come from the vision we have of women. It is not enough just to cure an epidemic, we have to look for the causes of the disease, act at the root and vaccinate.

7.- A culture that perverts the sexuality of minors is a path that then leads to immature and early sexual relations, unwanted pregnancies, and a wave of STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) where policies patch up without tackling the real root of the problem.

Laws are needed because they put boundaries to evil, but laws do not change people, and evil lies in the heart of the human being. Jesus said: Evil does not come from what we eat, because that goes from our mouths to the sewers. Evil is that which nests and arises from our heart.

In this situation Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God, is the only antidote to evil. That is why he came into the world, to change the interior of the human being, and to convert our hard and seared hearts into one that is clean and sensitive to the voice of God.

That is why I am a Christian and a feminist (and not the other way around). Because being a follower of Jesus leads me to fight for the justice of his Kingdom and, among other causes, for the dignity of women and girls.

Asun Quintana is an evangelical pastor in Madrid (Spain), and coordinator of the Working Group on Women and Society of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance.

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