A Danish children's television series has raised controversy with its animated adventures of a man with the world's longest penis.
John Dillermand, which premiered this past Saturday (January 2) on publicly funded children's channel DR Ramasjang, follows the titular moustachioed man moving through life with a laughably long schlong.
Clips from the show circulating online show John using his "diller" (Danish slang for penis) to light the grill and mow his lawn, walk neighbourhood dogs, clean up his community and even tame a lion.
YouTube's subtitle feature roughly translates the theme song's lyrics in part, as follows: "He has the world's longest diller / There's nothing he can't do with it / He can swing it around / He can get a little embarrassed / He can save the whole world if he's just allowed."
Despite the character being impossibly hung and helpful, reaction to the show has been mixed. Opponents of the show have taken issue with what messages an animated man who can't control his member could send.
Christian Groes, an associate professor and gender researcher at Roskilde University, told The Guardian that John Dillermand is "perpetuating the standard idea of a patriarchal society and normalising 'locker room culture' … that's been used to excuse a lot of bad behaviour from men. It's meant to be funny — so it's seen as harmless. But it's not. And we're teaching this to our kids."
Erla Heinesen Højsted, a clinical psychologist who works with families and children, felt such a reading to be shallow, explaining to The Guardian, "John Dillermand talks to children and shares their way of thinking — and kids do find genitals funny.
"The show depicts a man who is impulsive and not always in control, who makes mistakes — like kids do, but crucially, Dillermand always makes it right," Højsted continued. "He takes responsibility for his actions. When a woman in the show tells him that he should keep his penis in his pants, for instance, he listens. Which is nice. He is accountable."
Noting that creators could have considered more "difference and diversity" in the show, Højsted affirmed, "this is categorically not a show about sex. To pretend it is projects adult ideas on it."
John Dillermand, which premiered this past Saturday (January 2) on publicly funded children's channel DR Ramasjang, follows the titular moustachioed man moving through life with a laughably long schlong.
Clips from the show circulating online show John using his "diller" (Danish slang for penis) to light the grill and mow his lawn, walk neighbourhood dogs, clean up his community and even tame a lion.
YouTube's subtitle feature roughly translates the theme song's lyrics in part, as follows: "He has the world's longest diller / There's nothing he can't do with it / He can swing it around / He can get a little embarrassed / He can save the whole world if he's just allowed."
Despite the character being impossibly hung and helpful, reaction to the show has been mixed. Opponents of the show have taken issue with what messages an animated man who can't control his member could send.
Christian Groes, an associate professor and gender researcher at Roskilde University, told The Guardian that John Dillermand is "perpetuating the standard idea of a patriarchal society and normalising 'locker room culture' … that's been used to excuse a lot of bad behaviour from men. It's meant to be funny — so it's seen as harmless. But it's not. And we're teaching this to our kids."
Erla Heinesen Højsted, a clinical psychologist who works with families and children, felt such a reading to be shallow, explaining to The Guardian, "John Dillermand talks to children and shares their way of thinking — and kids do find genitals funny.
"The show depicts a man who is impulsive and not always in control, who makes mistakes — like kids do, but crucially, Dillermand always makes it right," Højsted continued. "He takes responsibility for his actions. When a woman in the show tells him that he should keep his penis in his pants, for instance, he listens. Which is nice. He is accountable."
Noting that creators could have considered more "difference and diversity" in the show, Højsted affirmed, "this is categorically not a show about sex. To pretend it is projects adult ideas on it."
