'Sexy' sausage ad causes stir in town

A street vendor's advertisement featuring the full, red lips of a woman wrapped around a thick sausage has caused a stir in a southern Sweden town, leaving gender experts outraged. The advert includes a close-up picture of a woman clutching a hotdog with two hands, with her lips wrapped around the tip of the sausage. Below reads the text “Thick sausage with bread” together with prices and other items on sale at the street kiosk, located in Simrishamn in southern Sweden.

Gender studies expert Britten Dehlin has immediately taken issue with the picture. “This is a sexualized picture. A prime example of an poorly-thought through act and a traditional gender approach with the aim of drawing in customers,” she said. Dehlin had also been outraged the year before when the kiosk featured an ad of a naked woman wrapping herself around a sausage.



However, kiosk owner Jörgen Andersson doesn’t see the problem. “I think the picture’s fun! The youngsters don’t get it – they only see the sausage,” he said, adding that the picture had been used by Swedish food retailer Scan around seven years ago. Meanwhile, Dehlin is furious that the picture may sour potential residents from moving to the area, claiming the sexy sausage ad “sabotages” the municipality's gender equality.

“We want people to come here, we want Simrishamn to have a good reputation and take the lead with our gender equality work. This is not just behind the times, but it’s working against equality,” she said. Meanwhile, a member of the local council which allows the vendor to rent space at the municipality-run sports hall told the paper he hadn't seen the ad but would nevertheless make sure the offending menu is removed "immediately".