Controversial Mermaid Statue Faces Demolition Amid Shocking Accusations of Objectification—What’s Really Behind the Outrage?
Who knew a 13-foot mermaid with notably ample assets could stir up such a tidal wave of controversy in Denmark? This towering siren, first splashing down near Copenhagen’s iconic Little Mermaid in 2006, is now facing the axe—yanked for supposedly misrepresenting the female form and being a tad too risqué for public display. Critics have dubbed it downright “p**nographic,” while the artist staunchly defends his creation’s proportions, insisting size truly does matter here. So, is this just an overblown tempest in a teapot, or a legit clash of culture versus modern taste? Dive into the drama, the debates, and yes, the busty backlash that’s got a Danish town saying “No thanks!” to a free statue. Ready to swim deeper? LEARN MORE
A 13–foot mermaid statue with pronounced breasts in Denmark is slated to be removed after it was deemed to be a misrepresentation of the female form and obscenely adult in nature.
The towering effigy was first erected in 2006 in the country’s capital, Copenhagen, just yards from the century-old Little Mermaid, which venerates the author of the titular tale, Hans Christian Anderson.
- A 13-foot mermaid statue in Dragør, Denmark, is being removed for being obscene and out of place.
- Critics slammed the large bust as “p**nographic,” while the artist insists it’s proportionate to scale.
- The statue, moved once before from Copenhagen, was offered to the town for free but the council declined.
The creator of the recent addition, which has already been moved once because of earlier controversy, has since surfaced to slam his critics and claim that the figurine’s upper torso is proportionate to her size.
The local city council rejected the statue even after it was offered to them free of charge
Image credits: Gustavo Muñoz/Adobe Stock
The Danish outlet Dragør Nytreported in July that the Danish Palaces and Cultural Heritage Agency requested Den Stor Havfrue (Danish for TheLarge Mermaid) to be removed from Dragør near the country’s marine border with Germany and Poland where it now stands—“because it is considered not to be in harmony with the fort’s cultural heritage.”
The outlet claims that the decision has since prompted the statue’s designer, a restaurateur named Peter Bech, to give the piece of art to the city council free of charge.
Image credits: YouTube
Local leadership, however, rejected the offer, asserting that “the mermaid sculpture is difficult to fit in, as it is not related to Dragør’s history and can thus be considered an element that does not contribute to the story of, for example, Dragør Old Town or the harbor.”
The effigy’s designer claims he had it crafted as a way of saying thank you
Dragør Nyt noted that Bech is having difficulty digesting the officials’ stance.
Image credits: timofnewbury
He reportedly reasoned that Dragør was a port city, so it “would make perfect sense” that the statue was installed there. He then argued that “there are mermaid sculptures in lots of cities.”
Bech claimed that the statue was his way of giving back to the city.
“I have felt well treated and very welcome here since I moved to Dragør a few years ago. So I wanted to give something back and offered to let the municipality have the mermaid installed close to the water,” the outlet quoted him saying.
Critics say it is making people “dumber”
Image credits: gehedreas
The state organ was not the only entity calling for the mermaid’s removal.
Speaking to local TV 2 Kosmopol, art critic Mathias Kryger said, “I simply think that this sculpture should never have been up in public space in the first place.”
He claimed the sculpture was “ugly” and part of an emerging trend threatening to make people “dumber.”
Image credits: Finn Årup Nielsen
“Sculptures must start reflections and be well thought out. I don’t think the Great Mermaid is characterized by that,” Kryger told the outlet.
A critic claimed the size of the statue’s breast will cause self-image issues among woman
Part of Kryger’s critique stems from the size of the mermaid’s bust, which led him to dub the figure “p**nographic.”
Image credits: tweedyjohn/Flickr
Danish journalist Sorine Gotfredsen weighed in with dissent, too, describing the statue’s upper half as “a man’s hot dream of what a woman should look like” and suggesting it risked driving self-image issues among women.
Bech, who had the statue crafted in China and shipped to Denmark, called the argument “pure nonsense” and reasoned that its face and tail were large, and thus her upper torso was large too—but proportionate.
“Of course the breasts are big on a big woman,” he said.
Image credits: Elizabethjenny
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Bech found an ally in politician Paw Karslund,who said:
“I simply think the argument that the statue should be ugly and p**nographic is too primitive. We shouldn’t be so afraid of a pair of breasts.”
