Accused of 'castrating' men, the Spanish state faces a housing reckoning
The 'castrating state' thesis versus the economic explanation for renting: the debate over why so many men aged 25 to 45 in Spain still live with their parents.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The generation that never leaves the basement: the state's fault, or their bank balance?
Is the Spanish state responsible for thousands of men aged 25 to 45 still sleeping in their childhood bedrooms? The question divides opinion. Some see a deliberate cultural attack on male role models. Others simply look at their payslip and the price of rent. The diagnosis is not new, but there is still no single answer.
The 'castrated man' thesis
The accusation is blunt: the education system and public discourse would have destroyed the male social fabric, leaving an entire generation without role models. In this narrative, the new reference points are YouTubers or civil servants, and the only result is a mass of graduates lying around at home, with zero self-esteem and motivation. It is, according to this school of thought, a cultural and mental attack.
The economic answer: it's not a conspiracy, it's the bank account
On the other side, the more down-to-earth argument: in the past, a working man could afford a family, a car and a small flat. Now many dream of a sad electric scooter. The comparison with the United States or the United Kingdom, where even those without qualifications can find work and rent a place on their own, is wielded as proof that the problem here is not role models but precarity. If a mortgage or rent devours your salary, it doesn't matter how masculine you are.
Redefining masculinity beyond money
There is a third way that defuses the debate: accusing those who measure manhood by their payslip of confusing masculinity with slavery. The effort to improve intellectually or physically, or to overcome hardship, would count for more than owning a property. On this reading, living at your parents' home doesn't make you less of a man; it makes you poorer.
Meanwhile, the discussion swings between blaming the state, capitalism or YouTubers. Like most popular diagnoses, they are probably all partly right. And no solution is in sight.
Is the Spanish state responsible for thousands of men aged 25 to 45 still sleeping in their childhood bedrooms? The question divides opinion. Some see a deliberate cultural attack on male role models. Others simply look at their payslip and the price of rent. The diagnosis is not new, but there is still no single answer.
The 'castrated man' thesis
The accusation is blunt: the education system and public discourse would have destroyed the male social fabric, leaving an entire generation without role models. In this narrative, the new reference points are YouTubers or civil servants, and the only result is a mass of graduates lying around at home, with zero self-esteem and motivation. It is, according to this school of thought, a cultural and mental attack.
The economic answer: it's not a conspiracy, it's the bank account
On the other side, the more down-to-earth argument: in the past, a working man could afford a family, a car and a small flat. Now many dream of a sad electric scooter. The comparison with the United States or the United Kingdom, where even those without qualifications can find work and rent a place on their own, is wielded as proof that the problem here is not role models but precarity. If a mortgage or rent devours your salary, it doesn't matter how masculine you are.
Redefining masculinity beyond money
There is a third way that defuses the debate: accusing those who measure manhood by their payslip of confusing masculinity with slavery. The effort to improve intellectually or physically, or to overcome hardship, would count for more than owning a property. On this reading, living at your parents' home doesn't make you less of a man; it makes you poorer.
Meanwhile, the discussion swings between blaming the state, capitalism or YouTubers. Like most popular diagnoses, they are probably all partly right. And no solution is in sight.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (9 replies).
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