Pinko Magazine Hedonism + Activism

There is a new film out this week by insane, racist Nazis Christian Conservatives warning of the coming “Demographic Winter” in Europe, a phenomenon in which the “liberalization” of sexuality (i.e. women getting jobs, gays getting gay, etc.) has precipitated a decline in European birthrates that is basically going to wipe out the entire continent. The film is hysterical, not in the “ha ha that’s funny” way but in the “omg these people are batshit” kind of way.

In the trailer, various nazis scholars, nazis experts and nazis sociologists argue that the French will disappear entirely, juxtaposing creepy interviews (”there wont be enough people to run the trains, or pay the taxes!”) with apocalyptic images of abandoned, snow covered playgrounds, empty schoolyards and sad, lonely aged Latvians. While the film is an effort for Christian right activists to try and export U.S. culture wars to Europe, several European countries themselves are getting into the act. From a fascinating article out today by Kathryn Joyce called “Missing - The Right Babies:”

In 2004 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi offered a “baby bonus” of about $1,000 to parents who had a second child, and Russia, which has a history of pronatalist policies, including its 1980s-era “motherhood medals,” sweetened the offer to its citizens with several birth initiatives for hesitant couples, including an $8,900 award to families who produce a second child and a stipend of 40 percent of salary to women who leave work to become stay-at-home moms. One Russian province made novelty news worldwide with its Day of Conception on September 12, when residents of Ulyanovsk got time off work to “conceive a patriot” for the country. Prizes for successful delivery nine months later include refrigerators and cars. The theme is present enough in the popular consciousness that a Swedish underwear company cashed in on the anxiety with a provocative ad campaign featuring a cast of Nordic men wearing EU-type lapel pins, commanding Swedes to Fuck for the Future and Drop Your Pants or Drop Dead.

The example in Italy has quite a punchline: The government sent checks to some families and then asked for the money back when they realized they had mistakenly given the payoff to immigrants. They didn’t want more babies; they wanted more white babies. As Joyce and others argue, the genesis (or should we say eugenisis?) of projects like Demographic Winter goes deeper than just morality and family values (which would be bad enough). It’s a centuries own battle — an effort to protect a Christian lineage against a perceived Muslim baby march across Europe.

The impact could be dramatic: Women’s rights; gay rights; even access to basic contraception in Europe could be imperiled if the “Demographic Winter” concept takes hold. Mitt Romney dropped it in his I’m a loser in funny underpants concession speech last week, a clear sign that more pandering from Republicans (McCaingerous, even?) can’t be far behind. While I couldn’t make fun of the trailer any better than it makes fun of itself, I thought the film — and Kathryn’s article — were worth a mention. The article effectively debunks the theory … something you might need to do around the dinner table one of these nights if McCaingerous or Mike Huckabee start asking us to “conceive a patriot.”

[Note: That photo inexplicably ran alongside a Christan right article about "demographic winter" with the caption "Eurabia?" Sigh.]

About The Author - Ben Wyskida is a writer, activist, conscientious hedonist and political communications strategist living in Brooklyn. - Visit Ben's site.