Expert dismisses concern over children seeing vibrator advertisement

Children seeing a public advertisement for vibrators is not a problem, according to an expert quoted by DR, after a campaign in Fredericia sparked criticism.

The advertisement from the webshop Sinful ran on city buses in Fredericia over the summer. It showed three vibrators alongside the slogan “100 per cent orgasm guarantee”.

The poster was removed after residents criticised it as inappropriate and objected to children being exposed to it. The buses are now carrying a different Sinful advertisement.

Katrine Zeuthen, a PhD in clinical child psychology and a private-practice psychoanalyst, said parents should first ask children what they think the advertisement means.

Children may offer an innocent explanation and may be satisfied with a simple answer, she said. Parents could also explain that it is something adults find pleasant to use.

Zeuthen advised adults to keep the conversation at the child’s level and avoid giving a detailed explanation of how a vibrator works. She said the problem arises if adults either refuse to discuss the advertisement or provide too much information.

Communication adviser and branding expert Sune Bang said the criticism may reflect growing modesty and political correctness around sex and nudity. He described this as a movement that has developed over the past 10 to 20 years and said it was partly influenced by American culture.

According to Bang, sex is increasingly being viewed as private and taboo, despite Denmark’s previous emphasis on freedom, nudity and bare breasts as natural parts of public life.