Denmark's 'pornographic' mermaid statue is in hot water

"Erecting a statue of a man's hot dream of what a woman should look like is unlikely to promote many women's acceptance of their own bodies."

So wrote Sørine Gotfredsen, a priest and journalist, in the Danish newspaper Berlingske. The 13-foot statue, a voluptuous stone mermaid, has "caused controversy for years due to its exaggerated figure", said The Independent.

But now it will reportedly be removed from Dragør Fort in Copenhagen because it "does not align with the cultural heritage of the 1910 landmark", said The Guardian.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

'Too sexualised'

"Den Store Havfrue" (the "Big Mermaid") is no stranger to eviction. It was initially erected in 2006 at Langelinie Pier in Copenhagen, a few hundred yards from the world-famous "Little Mermaid" statue. But the bigger mermaid was removed after locals reportedly complained that it was "too sexualised", said The Telegraph.

It was then moved in 2018 to Dragør Fort, part of Copenhagen's former sea fortifications, until the Danish agency for palaces and culture "intervened in March, requesting its removal", said The Guardian. Mathias Kryger, art critic for the Politiken newspaper, called the statue "ugly and pornographic".

But the "Big Mermaid" is "arguably a bit less naked" than her smaller inspiration, said Berlingske's debate editor, Aminata Corr Thrane. "On the other hand, she has bigger breasts, and that's probably where the problem lies. Do naked female breasts have to have a specific academic shape and size to be allowed to appear in public?"

'Completely normal proportions'

Peter Bech, the restaurateur who commissioned the statue, said he couldn't understand the fuss; that the statue was a retort to tourists who complain that the "Little Mermaid" is too small.

"The mermaid has completely normal proportions in relation to her size. Of course, the breasts are big on a big woman," Bech told TV 2 Kosmopol, a Danish broadcaster. The criticism is "pure nonsense".

Politician Paw Karslund also "echoed that view", said Euronews. "I simply think the argument that the statue should be ugly and pornographic is too primitive," he told the broadcaster. "We shouldn't be so afraid of a pair of breasts."

Bech reportedly offered to donate the statue to the fort – but Helle Barth, chair of Dragør municipality's climate, urban and business committee, told Berlingske: "It's just hard to fit in. It takes up a lot of space."