17.9.09

The Danes, they are a coming

Want a fling? Visit Denmark. A three-minute long ad showed a young, blonde woman cradling a dark-skinned infant called August and saying he is the result of a brief tryst with a foreign tourist.


There are several questions here:

This was on Danish TV and apparently staged, so what prompted it? Is there a belief that people will throng to the country to have flings?

Is there a problem with the child being dark-skinned, although in the image here it does not appear so? Why are such values being promoted?

VisitDenmark manager Dorte Kiilerich explained that the intent was to tell a nice and sweet story about a grown-up woman who lives in a free society and accepts the consequences of her actions.

I understand free societies. But, do only women in such societies have to grow up? And what does ‘accept the consequences of their actions’ mean? Isn’t a woman in a free society intelligent enough to protect herself against pregnancy? What is so nice and sweet to be left alone with a baby? Do free societies have a carte blanche emotional security policy that makes its women believe that it is nice and sweet to consolidate this image of independence even if it means that they have to fend for themselves?

It is indeed sick to even imagine how any nation can let itself be bartered for such an image.

8 comments:

  1. You're a very talented writer. How many times have you heard that?

    I have always been interested in writing too. I used to blog, but I felt very exposed so I stopped. And I'm stuck between the Pakistani father who wants his daughter to study HRM instead of International Development or Journalism. I'd rather stay home and journal, than sit in an office with dull men.

    I'm stuck :( I need help. I need ventilation. I have often wondered, what's your story? How did you get to be where you are today?

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  2. 1. The nation here is not bartered for the image...

    2. What appears to be not so nice and sweet to you, may be so for others... Who's to tell? Ah crap subjective images...

    3. Things you said have to be said..

    4. What is journalism? (unrelated)

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  3. Apparently, Denmark needs contraceptive awareness ads.

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  4. Sex tourism is a problem in many countries but this is stupid.

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  5. Anon:

    Thanks, but I don't hear it often. People are misers or they have other ideas!

    If blogging helps you ventilate, then you should do it, even if anonymously. I was fortunate to choose my path with no pressures of any kind. I wish it were the same for everyone. However, if you are pursuing a different field, do not worry too much about dull men. In my work, I don't even get to meet those :)

    How did I get here? Nothing dramatic...maybe you will read about it in a couple of writer type blogs. Those who have been here long enough know that I rarely writing about writing. But I will...just cheer up and let it out.

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  6. Atul:

    1. Lene Espersen, economy minister who also holds the government's tourism portfolio, said the video presented "a not very well thought out picture of the country".

    2. Denmark's tourism agency has removed one of its advertisements from YouTube after complaints that it promoted promiscuity in the liberal Scandinavian country.

    3. Huh? I know that.

    4. Different definitions, and subjective viewpoints.

    SM:

    It is weird in a liberal country. A sociologist the ad suggested that "you can lure fast, blonde Danish women home without a condom".

    Ameya:

    Right. One is not denying the existence or even the need for sex tourism, but to promote the country as that is ridiculous.

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  7. Wow! After watching Hostel, Turistas and other slashers whose names I don't remember, I wouldn't want to do that. I have learnt that a fast, blande who wants to do me without condoms will probably be hacking the pieces of my dead body later.

    No, thank you, danish blonde, I am not in the mood to die a horrible dead today!

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  8. Don't stereotype people. What is "fast blonde"? Not done.

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