A Danish chat show where women
silently undress as the male host and a guest critique their bodies has
been branded humiliating and sexist by viewers.
The women walk on in a bath robe and then stand in front of the two men who are seated on an empty set with one harsh light.
Each model then removes her robe as host Thomas Blachman, who also created the concept, and his guest appraise their figures.
Some of the most puerile moments have included comments such as 'How's that p****' working out for you?' and 'Very animated nipples.'
Blachman, who is a Danish X-Factor judge, today defended his idea insisting he was actually doing women a favour as the 'female body thirsts for the words of a man'.
He also said his show - which has the eponymous title Blachman - was the work of a genius and had a higher objective of 'discussing the aesthetics of a female body without allowing the conversation to become pornographic or politically correct'.
He said: 'I told them the entire idea of the show is to let men talk about the bodies of naked women while the woman is standing right in front of them.
'The female body thirsts for words. The words of a man. And they went for it.'
He added that he wanted to 'revise women's views of men's views of women.'
Critics rubbished his claims highlighting an example on one show in which he said: 'I've always been an a** man.
Even before Blachman aired, it received massive media attention and has been widely criticised as being both sexist and humiliating for women.
Author Knud Romer said: 'The programs so-called intention of breaking down taboos or challenging stereotypes is rubbish.
'It's more like a claustrophobic strip club which only serves to cement classic concepts of male dominance.
'Basically, things like this should have been able consigned to the scrap heap of history years ago.'
One of the country's top bloggers and opinion-makers, Lotte Hansen, was also scathing, describing the show as 'an unsuccessful attempt to intellectualize the Roskilde County Show – the only difference being that the young fillies on view in Roskilde have been replaced by naked women.'
Hansen has started a campaign demanding DR cancel the show 'before this goes any further'.
Martin Lyngbo of the Mungo Park Theater said Blachman’s show 'institutionalizes already run-of-the-mill malechauvinistic thinking.'
An unrepentant Blachman, who has since retreated to his home in New York in the face of all the controversy, said: 'Ungratefulness is the only thing that can really wear down the few geniuses who reside in our country.
'Remember, I am giving you something that you have never seen before. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.'
DR producer Sofia Fromberg, who defended the project, said the show must go on and does not think that the TV critics should have the final say about what is good for men and women.
She added: 'We have a program that reveals what men think about the female body. Quite honestly, what is wrong with that?'
The programme is aired on public service channel DR2.
The women walk on in a bath robe and then stand in front of the two men who are seated on an empty set with one harsh light.
Each model then removes her robe as host Thomas Blachman, who also created the concept, and his guest appraise their figures.
Some of the most puerile moments have included comments such as 'How's that p****' working out for you?' and 'Very animated nipples.'
Blachman, who is a Danish X-Factor judge, today defended his idea insisting he was actually doing women a favour as the 'female body thirsts for the words of a man'.
He also said his show - which has the eponymous title Blachman - was the work of a genius and had a higher objective of 'discussing the aesthetics of a female body without allowing the conversation to become pornographic or politically correct'.
He said: 'I told them the entire idea of the show is to let men talk about the bodies of naked women while the woman is standing right in front of them.
'The female body thirsts for words. The words of a man. And they went for it.'
He added that he wanted to 'revise women's views of men's views of women.'
Critics rubbished his claims highlighting an example on one show in which he said: 'I've always been an a** man.
Even before Blachman aired, it received massive media attention and has been widely criticised as being both sexist and humiliating for women.
Author Knud Romer said: 'The programs so-called intention of breaking down taboos or challenging stereotypes is rubbish.
'It's more like a claustrophobic strip club which only serves to cement classic concepts of male dominance.
'Basically, things like this should have been able consigned to the scrap heap of history years ago.'
One of the country's top bloggers and opinion-makers, Lotte Hansen, was also scathing, describing the show as 'an unsuccessful attempt to intellectualize the Roskilde County Show – the only difference being that the young fillies on view in Roskilde have been replaced by naked women.'
Hansen has started a campaign demanding DR cancel the show 'before this goes any further'.
Martin Lyngbo of the Mungo Park Theater said Blachman’s show 'institutionalizes already run-of-the-mill malechauvinistic thinking.'
An unrepentant Blachman, who has since retreated to his home in New York in the face of all the controversy, said: 'Ungratefulness is the only thing that can really wear down the few geniuses who reside in our country.
'Remember, I am giving you something that you have never seen before. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.'
DR producer Sofia Fromberg, who defended the project, said the show must go on and does not think that the TV critics should have the final say about what is good for men and women.
She added: 'We have a program that reveals what men think about the female body. Quite honestly, what is wrong with that?'
The programme is aired on public service channel DR2.
No comments:
Post a Comment