A new TV show has premiered in Denmark about a man with the world's largest penis, which he can't always control. Did we mention it's a kid's show? The animated series that premiered Saturday on the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), aimed at 4- to 8-year-olds, has critics complaining of a normalization of "locker room culture" in the midst of the #MeToo movement, per the Guardian. It follows title character John Dillermand (a surname that translates to "penis man"), whose phallus is as long as a jump rope and can do incredible things. Always appearing clothed, it extends outward from John's striped jumpsuit to draw, steal, or walk John's dog. DR has pushed the envelope before, including with an award-winning show that featured pre-teens staring at nude adults, per the New York Times. But some say this focus on the penis comes at a particularly bad time.
"Is this really the message we want to send to children while we are in the middle of a huge #MeToo wave?" asks author Anne Lise Marstrand-Jorgensen, per the Guardian. Morten Messerschmidt, a member of the right-wing Danish People's Party, has also criticized the show, along with parents on DR's Facebook page, per CNN. But psychologist Erla Heinesen Hojsted doesn't see the harm. It "talks to children and shares their way of thinking," she tells the Guardian. John "makes mistakes—like kids do, but crucially, Dillermand always makes it right. He takes responsibility for his actions." Vulture's Kathryn VanArendonk, who watched several episodes, adds there's nothing sexual about the show. It provides "a lesson for us all about bodies" and "loving oneself," she writes. "It's also a story of hope" since "John's penis saves children from drowning!" Watch for yourself here. (More TV shows stories.)
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