Erdogan Slams Eurovision as a Threat to Family Values and Defends Low Birth Rates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the Eurovision Song Contest of promoting "gender neutralization" and attacking the traditional family. He defended Turkey's withdrawal from the event in 2012 and criticized declining birth rates in his country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a scathing attack on the Eurovision Song Contest on Monday, accusing the annual event of promoting "gender neutralization" and threatening the traditional family.

In a speech following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan described participants in the contest as the "Trojan horses of social corruption" and said his government was right to keep Turkey out of the pan-European pop competition since 2012.

His comments appear to be a reference to Swiss singer Nemo, who won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest earlier this month with "The Code," a song about embracing a nongender identity. Nemo is the first nonbinary winner of the contest, which has long been seen as a safe haven for the LGBTQ community.

"At such events, it has become impossible to meet a normal person," claimed Erdogan, whose ruling Justice and Development Party finds its roots in Turkey's Islamic movement. His government has grown less tolerant of LGBTQ rights in recent years.

"We understand better how we made the right decision by keeping Turkey out of this disgraceful competition for the past 12 years," he said.

Erdogan also decried a serious decline in birth rates in Turkey, calling it an "existential threat" and a "disaster" for the country.

Last week, Turkey's State Statistical Institute announced that the country's birth rate in 2023 had dropped to 1.51 children per woman. The Turkish leader has long called on families to have at least three children.

"Our national security, our national independence, our future are all tied to our population," Erdogan said. "A nation that cannot grow its population is a nation that is disappearing."

He blamed the low birth rates on urbanization, changing lifestyles, and economic factors. Critics have accused Erdogan of undermining women's rights and LGBTQ rights, which they say contribute to the declining birth rates.

Erdogan's comments on Eurovision and birth rates drew widespread criticism from opposition parties and rights groups.

"Erdogan's latest attack on the Eurovision Song Contest and his retrograde views on gender and sexuality are deeply troubling," said Bulent Turan, a spokesperson for the Republican People's Party. "They betray his authoritarian tendencies and his intolerance for diversity."

"Erdogan's obsession with population growth is dangerous and misguided," said Gulden Sonmez, director of the Women's Solidarity Foundation. "Instead of addressing the underlying causes of low birth rates, he is scapegoating women and LGBTQ people."

The Eurovision Song Contest, which began in 1956, is one of the most popular television events in the world, watched by an estimated 200 million people. It has faced criticism from conservative groups in the past, but its inclusive nature has made it popular among LGBTQ people and their allies.