Inside Denmark: Are Danes really boycotting American products?

Signs of decay in Danish public perception of the United States

A poll this week concluded that a growing number of Danes view the United States as a threat to Denmark.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, an expert pointed to President Donald Trump as the reason.

In the survey, conducted by polling institute Verian on behalf of the conservative-leaning newspaper Berlingske, four in ten Danes said they consider the US either a significant or direct threat to Denmark.

When asked whether they currently see the US as an ally or a threat to Denmark, 32 percent responded that they view America as a “significant threat,” while 9 percent see it as “a threat.”

Those figures are “completely drastic” according to Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, a professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen.

Rasmussen said there was no doubt Trump was the cause of Danes’ loss in trust of the US.

“When Danes, who are rational people, listen to what the new US leadership is saying, they can recognise rhetoric that sounds like it’s coming from the Kremlin. That’s why they don’t trust them,” he told Berlingske.

Since returning to the White House on January 20th, Trump has suspended military support for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in 2022, and cast doubt as to whether the US would support European countries in the event of war.

Perhaps more personal for Danes have been Trump’s repeated vows to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Danish kingdom, despite Greenland repeatedly stating it does not want to become American and the Danish government saying only Greenland has the right to make a decision on its future.

There are other signs of Danes’ growing lack of trust in the United States, or at least the United States administration.

Consumers have begun boycotting goods and services “Made in USA”, although they are discovering just how difficult that can be at times, given the vast reach of US products as well as the listing of many European countries in the US.

Groups have emerged on social networks in Denmark aimed at helping fellow consumers make alternate choices, notably the Facebook group “Boykot varer fra USA” (Boycott products from the USA), which had some 63,000 members as of Thursday.

Last week, the Salling supermarket chain decided to mark European products with a star, to help customers make their choice.

The initiative is in response to strong demand from consumers, the head of the Salling Group retailer, Anders Hagh, wrote on LinkedIn.

Like in most of Europe, sales of Tesla electric cars — owned by key Trump ally Elon Musk, who has backed European far-right parties — continued to slide in Norway and Denmark in February.

But experts say however that the impact of boycotts like this will probably be limited.

“Experience shows that it’s very difficult to get any major economic effects from voluntary (consumer) boycotts,” Olof Johansson Stenman, economics professor at the University of Gothenburg, told news agency AFP.

How will ‘Spermageddon’ animation film go down in Denmark?

You might recall the release a few years back of broadcaster DR’s children’s television series John Dillermand, with 13 episodes all about the adventures of a man with an extraordinarily long penis.

It served to boost Denmark’s reputation as one of the world’s most progressive countries, although the stories of the man with “the world’s longest willy” sparked international debate about what is appropriate for children.

“It’s a very Danish show. We have a tradition to push the limits and use humour and we think it’s totally normal,” education expert Sophie Munster told AFP at the time.

It could now be time for the return of that debate with the release of a Norwegian film called Spermageddon, which has sparked controversy in Norway and Sweden and was released in Denmark this week.

This show revolves around two teenage lead characters, so the target viewer is older than the four-to-eight year-old intended audience of John Dillermand.

In Spermageddon, we follow the characters Jens and Lisa as they prepare to have sex for the first time. Parallel to their story, another unfolds about two sperm cells – named Cumilla and Simen, in a large injection of juvenile humour from the Norwegian writers – who are racing to reach the egg.

Danish film review publication Filmmagasinet Ekko‘s described the material as “so close to reality that it could be used in school sex education.”

The age limit of the film has been central to much of the debate around it in Denmark’s Nordic neighbours, with critics arguing that the 12 certificate in Norway is too low. In Sweden, the film is rated an 11 – and as low as 7 when viewed with an adult.

Both countries have seen petitions against the film, with Norway’s version specifically asking for the age limit to be raised to 15, newswire Ritzau reports.

So what age limit has Denmark, with its track record of progressive attitudes to television depictions of genitalia and sex, decided to give the film?

Spermageddon’s age rating in Denmark is set at seven years, making Norway and Sweden’s limits look almost prudish. But the film is not for children, newspaper Ekstra Bladet’s reviewer writes.

“My tip: Watch it without the little ones,” the reviewer writes, going on to describe the film as “delightfully liberating and unashamed comedy”.

Newspaper Politiken’s reviewer meanwhile said the film’s “core audience” – presumably meaning teenagers – will likely “appreciate the matter-of-fact way Jens and Lisa talk about sex, influenced by the porn they both admit to watching.”

It seems like the country that gave us John Dillermand is probably going to regard the Norwegian film’s openness as a good thing.

Inside Denmark: Are Danes really boycotting American products?

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