Denmark launches children’s TV

Photo: www.dr.dk/

Denmark launches children’s TV show featuring man with giant penis

Danish public television network DR has debuted a new animated children’s television programme featuring a man with an extra-long penis.

Denmark launches children’s TV

Photo: www.dr.dk/

Danish public broadcasting network DR is facing criticism after debuting an animated children’s show called John Dillermand – the story of a man with an extraordinarily long penis.

About ‘John Dillermand

According to The Wrap, in Denmark, “diller” is slang for penis, so Dillermand’s name is literally John Penis-man. The show is geared toward 4- to 8-year olds but is essentially raising a lot of questions.

The first episode of the show, which is only about five minutes long, viewers are introduced to Dillermand, a man in a red and white striped outfit. He gets into all sorts of mischief with his penis, but he also uses it to save the day — it becomes a helicopter, a pogo stick and even a weapon to defend children after a lion attacks their ice cream stand.

Danish family psychologist Erla Heinesen Højsted recently told The Guardian that it’s possible Dillermand could be a positive influence on kids watching.

“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. He takes responsibility for his actions,” Højsted said. “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.”

Not designed to be a commentary on gender

After receiving complaints about the show, DR defended its content and clarified that the show is not designed to be a commentary on gender. The network said it could “just as easily have made a programme about a woman with no control over her vagina,” and that their main concern was if children were entertained by the show.

Still, some Danes have criticized the show and argued that it is inappropriate for children to watch. American parenting and child development expert Dr Deborah Gilboa told Today that she agrees with critics of the show. “Children’s television has a unique opportunity – and therefore responsibility – to shape the thinking of a generation about who they can be and what they can accomplish,” Gilboa said.

“This is, at best, a wasted opportunity. It is, for the majority of kids who will see it, a confusing, unnecessarily sexualizing message about boy bodies. Even worse, for a percentage of kids, this will speed their genital exploration ahead of their cognitive development in ways that can be damaging.”

But, Højsted later said that the show isn’t about sex, despite starring a man with a huge, flexible penis. “This is categorically not a show about sex [and] to pretend it is projects adult ideas on it,” she said.