We Got an Illustrator to Draw the Biggest Danish Stereotypes About Sweden

Wherever I go in the world, people seem to think that Sweden has two stores only (IKEA and H&M), and that we only ever listen to music by Robyn, Ace of Base and/or ABBA. Although there is a Swedish pop phenomena, there’s waaaay more to Sweden than putting furniture parts together and wearing similar clothes produced en masse in Cambodia.

To see if there lies a little bit of truth in what some foreigners consider to be Swedish, I asked my colleagues at VICE Denmark what they think about us so I could fact-check their beliefs. Then we asked Alex Jenkins to illustrate some of those stereotypes below.

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Stereotypes by VICE DK Staff; illustrations by Alex Jenkins; fact-checking by Caisa Ederyd

SWEDISH WOMEN ARE TALL AND BLONDE
The stereotype: Is there a gene designed to make Swedish girls extra tall? You’re beautiful with your tall frames and naturally blonde hair, but pretty much all of you are borderline arrogant. It’s as if you’re so very aware of your prettiness that you can’t help to be rude.

The stereotype fact-checked: According to this study on female height around the world, Danish women are about four centimetres taller than Swedish women. Speaking of measuring things and statistics, not only are Danish women only 1.2 centimetres shorter than the world’s tallest (the Dutch), according to Doctor Richard Lynn’s comprehensive study on penis length, Iceland’s men have the longest penises in the world, with Danish men on second place, too. Looks like it’s you guys who have super long genes.

Considering that only about two percent of the world’s population is blonde, it’d be weird to suggest that all of them are Swedish. Also, scientists believe that the world’s last real blonde will live and die in Finland, not Sweden. Oh, and three to five percent of Swedish women suffer from Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) every month, although that’s far from every woman, it could be a reason to that some of us have a shitty attitude sometimes.

SWEDISH PEOPLE WEAR RED TROUSERS
The stereotype: What’s up with the way you dress? You always manage to dress inappropriately as if you’re going to a meeting at some bank. Oh and you have a weird fetish for wearing red trousers.

The stereotype fact-checked: Considering Peter08’s summer hit, “Sture-P (Skjorta, Kavaj och Röda Byxor)” [Stureplan (Shirt, Blazer and Red Trousers)] from 2011, I think you’re referring to something nicknamed “preppy style” and the people hanging out around Stureplan in central Stockholm. Stureplan is an infamous square mostly surrounded by buildings housing offices and nightclubs.

According to newspaper Expressen, Sweden’s King was the first to introduce the red trousers, followed by Sweden’s upper class. In 2007 Endy Elfström, who works at “the exclusive” store Ströms told Expressen, “[Red trousers] might not be suitable at weddings, but otherwise almost always. Imagine a lunch at Sturehof or an evening at Operakällaren accompanied by a nice jumper.” Both Sturehof and Operakällaren are restaurants near Stureplan, which suggests that it is Stureplan you’re referring to.

There’s also a widespread red trousers myth, which says only sailors who have crossed the Atlantic Ocean are allowed to wear red trousers. This is not exclusive to Swedish sailors. Looking at red trousers belonging to a particular class – the nobility – only 28,000 people are considered Swedish nobility, which is about 0.29 percent of Sweden’s population.

SWEDISH PEOPLE DRINK TOO MUCH
The stereotype: You always drink too much! It’s like you don’t know how to stop. You always drink to the point of vomiting, and once you’ve done that, you start all over again. We used to call throwing up from binge drinking to be “fluent in Swedish” back in the days.

The stereotype fact-checked: You know what? Nordic people consume the least alcohol in Europe. Eastern Europeans drink most. Unless we should believe this Danish study from 2012, which says it’s you guys who drink the most. However, Swedes tend to drink and drive more than what people in its neighbouring countries do. And 446,000 Swedes suffer from some kind of alcohol related addiction, which does suggest we drink a little too much.

SWEDEN IS A TINDER PARADISE
The stereotype: Sweden is the best Tinder country in the world! There’s really no point in using Tinder unless you’re visiting Sweden.

The stereotype fact-checked: Yeah, Swedes love dating apps, and Tinder is in fact Sweden’s most popular lifestyle app. Thanks to this Tumblr, Swedish girls on Tinder have a particularly good reputation online (which might explain why you think all of us are pretty, too). But it’s worth mentioning that it is in Denmark where politicians use Tinder as a way to reach young people ahead of their election.

SWEDEN IS SCANDINAVIA’S THIRD WORLD COUNTRY
The stereotype: It’s impossible to buy a coffee in Oslo or a McFeast in Copenhagen without being served by a Swede. You’ve moved here to form an army of waiters, cleaners and shop keepers.

The stereotype fact-checked: Around 80,000 Swedes work in Norway every year. That’s because Sweden was hit pretty hard by the credit crunch in 2008 and Norway has less than 3 percent unemployment (Sweden has more than the double). Several Norwegian employers consider Swedes to have high working morals. Maybe it’s you guys who should learn from us? In 2013, the boss of Norwegian Manpower told vg.no, “Norwegian youth has a lot to learn from Swedish youth. It seems like the Norwegians are a bit spoiled.”

So yeah, we might do the dirty work you can’t handle, but calling us “Scandinavia’s third world country” is a little harsh, don’t you think?

SWEDISH FOOD IS GROSS
The stereotype: What’s up with your horrible food? Seriously, you eat rotten fish! The fridge has been around for more than a century – you don’t have to ferment food to be able to eat all year round, you know.

The stereotype fact-checked: We don’t eat surströmming all year round. August is the season for it and far from everyone in Sweden likes it. Around 700,000 cans of it is sold every year. But I have to hand it to you, with Noma considered the world’s best restaurant in 2014 and on third place in 2015, some of you Danes are better than us at cooking good food. But you should totally check out Munchies Guide to Sweden for a little more educated view on Swedish cuisine.

Follow Alex Jenkins on Instagram and Caisa on Twitter.

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