A group of young people aged 18 to 20 use their services in a provocative celebration of one peer’s coming of age. This is the story behind it. Men, Cosmo’s new short film, addresses gender violence against women. It was published on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The production manager cautions that prostitution is not for older gentlemen with a whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other. Jaime Dezcallar explains the context. In Spain, one in ten teenagers pays for sexual encounters. The INJUVE 2020 Youth in Spain Report reveals that 10.6 percent of young people aged 15 to 29 admit to having engaged in prostitution at some point.
They do not see problems. A payment is made and sex is exchanged in return. In that equation, everyone should be happy, and no moral objection should arise. The director notes that the topic was almost taboo at first and required substantial research. He spoke with friends, and the stories flowed. He managed to contact several women involved in prostitution, and the information gathered sent chills down his spine. The women described customers as people with limited social skills who felt they were being given a favor.
Normalization of prostitution
In the short film, Gabriel Sánchez plays Javi, an 18-year-old who comes of age. Catalina Sopelana portrays Sara, the sex worker hired by Javi’s friends for the party. Sánchez describes how the collaborators helped him understand the issue by guiding him to empathize with the character and to express the idea that love can exist even in difficult circumstances. He emphasizes that Sara is ultimately a victim, even as others think no wrong was done. The birthday celebrations reveal social pressure to lose virginity, with a warning that sex is not a human right, a point stressed by the film’s perspective.
Sopelana wanted her performance to convey a blend of discomfort and everyday reality. She chose not to meet the actors until after filming to preserve a sense of distance and responsibility. Her approach aimed to respect the reality being portrayed, acknowledging prostitution as a real phenomenon and suggesting that the short film helps bring focus to it. She notes a troubling lack of awareness and insufficient training in addressing these topics.
The normalization of prostitution highlights a deeper problem: the objectification of women, early exposure to pornography, and the eroticization of violence. Save the Children reports that sexual information through pornography often begins at a young age. In a study, a majority of respondents report first contact with pornography before age 13, and a notable share even before age 10. Dezcallar stresses that the issue cannot remain taboo and must be discussed openly to prevent dangerous behavior.
Little sexual education
Experts identify several contributing factors to the issue, with a lack of comprehensive sexual education at the forefront. The director notes that young people may pursue sexual activity due to gaps in formal education and the pervasive influence of porn. The depiction of gender roles in many videos reinforces harmful stereotypes. In such portrayals, men often hold power, while women are depicted as subordinate and subjected to control, humiliation, and even open violence.
Sánchez argues that schools do their part, but the environment in which a person grows up and family influences play a significant role. The extent to which machismo is internalized can shape views on prostitution and pornography. The film’s cast suggests that women still face considerable work to achieve parity, and men have a part to play in supporting change without eclipsing women’s agency.