A debate has erupted in Denmark over the fate of a mermaid statue that is to be removed from public view after being decried as “ugly and pornographic” and “a man’s hot dream of what a woman should look like”. The big mermaid statue in Denmark is “too hot” for public viewing.
Plans to remove the statue of a mermaid in Denmark from a historical landmark have sparked debate. However, the man behind the statue, Peter Bech, says, “The mermaid has completely normal proportions concerning her size. Of course, the breasts are big on a big woman.”
The Danish agency for palaces and culture is reportedly removing the 4×6 meter granite 14-ton Den Store Havfrue (the Big Mermaid) from Dragør Fort, part of Copenhagen’s former sea fortifications, because it does not align with the cultural heritage of the 1910 landmark.
Mathias Kryger, art critic for the Danish paper Politiken, told local media that the statue was “ugly and pornographic”. Writing in the newspaper Berlingske, another journalist, Sørine Gotfredsen, said many people found the statue “vulgar, unpoetic and undesirable”.
Others have said the criticism reflects society’s attitudes to women’s bodies more generally – and not in a good way. For Aminata Corr Thrane, Berlingske’s debate editor, the scrutiny of the mermaid’s breasts was tantamount to body shaming.
However, Peter Bech, says it was a boon for the Dragør area and attracted visitors. He described the criticism as “pure nonsense”.
The statue, which was carved in Beijing, drew sharp criticism from many locals; some backed the artist and fort owner in their position to keep the statue erected.
In 2006, the Big Mermaid was erected at Langelinie Pier in Copenhagen, near the Little Mermaid. But it was removed in 2018 after locals denounced it as “the fake and vulgar mermaid”.
Bech, who has said he made the statue in response to tourists’ comments that the Little Mermaid – inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale – was too small, has said people in Dragør often tell him that they love his sculpture. He is hoping to find a way to keep it in the town.
Big Mermaid Statue in Denmark is “Too Hot” For Public Viewing, Tor Kjolberg reporting.
I find the statue quite fine and in line with fit and healthy body proportions, which should be what a mermaid is about. I think this nonsensical stir is created by physically insecure individuals along with those gaslighted, politically correct ones – sadly too abundant these days – and it goes to the core of why European (native) peoples are being driven to extinction.