A Danish claymation cartoon show for children aged four to eight, which tells stories of a character named John Dillermand, has sparked outrage. Dillermand is a man with supposedly the longest penis in the world. The show features a man in a striped costume with a penis a couple of meters long is currently broadcasting on public TV station DR. The name of the main character, Dillermand, is not a coincidence, as the Danish the word “diller“ is used as a colloquial designation for men’s private parts. Mr. Dillermand can use his penis to perform different tasks on the series, including drawing, stealing ice cream from children, hanging from balloons, and even making a boat out of it. In this context, it is probably no surprise that the show immediately aroused a wave of discussions after Saturday’s premiere about whether such a “fairy tale” is suitable for children, with many denouncing the series.
“Is this really what we want to tell children, especially when we are in the middle of a wave of the #MeToo campaign?” asked Danish writer Anne Lise Marstrand-Jørgensen, for example. Christian Groes, a Danish professor and gender studies expert, also agreed with her. “It’s about maintaining a patriarchal idea and normalizing sexism, inappropriate jokes, prejudices, or homophobia,” Groes commented. “It seems to be funny, therefore harmless, but it is really not.” DR public television is famous for pushing borders. There have been several controversial shows in recent years, such as the show with Uncle Rej (Onkel Reje), who swears, smokes a pipe, and does not tolerate hygiene. DR has responded to criticisms, writing in a statement, “We can easily create a series about a woman with an uncontrollable vagina. The main thing is that the children enjoy the series.” Recently, another Danish show ” Ultra Strip Down “, which exhibits naked adult bodies to children between the ages of 11 and 13, faced international backlash. Adults appearing on the show completely undress in front of a children audience and then answer questions from the children on a range of topics.
Title image: John Dillermand (Twitter)
