Kids’ TV show featuring completely nude adults answering questions about the human body sparks fury in Holland: Critics say Simply Naked ‘comes close to promoting paedophilia’
- Programme called ‘Simply Naked’ is being televised by public broadcaster NOS
- Audience of children aged 10 to 12 are invited to ask questions of naked adults
- Makers say it was ‘very carefully produced’ and is intended to educate kids
- Critics, including leading politicians, have called it ‘disgusting’ and ‘ridiculous’
A kids’ TV show featuring completely nude adults answering questions about the human body has sparked fury in Holland.
A promotion for the programme called ‘Simply Naked’, which is set to be televised by the public broadcaster NOS, showed a group of adults disrobing in front of an audience of children.
The boys and girls, aged between 10 and 12, were invited to ask questions on subjects such as how confident the adults felt in their own bodies.
The series’ developers say it has been ‘very carefully produced,’ is intended to educate children about the human body and that there are no questions about sex.
But critics have branded it ‘disgusting,’ with the leader of the right-wing FvD party Thierry Baudet saying it ‘comes close to promoting paedophilia.’
The programme called ‘Simply Naked’ was televised by the public broadcaster NOS and showed a group of adults disrobing in front of an audience of children
A child reacts during the programme. The reactions of the group varied, with one saying: ‘This is not a show I need to see’
A boy asking a question during the filming of the new show which is based on a Danish kids’ TV programme
The children react as the group of naked adults appears before them
Left-wing MP Tunahan Kuzu called the programme ‘ridiculous’ and told his Twitter followers to write to the national broadcaster to complain.
And the conservative SGP party has asked questions in parliament over why the programme is going ahead.
It comes after a preview of the series aired which showed the varying reactions of the children and some of the questions which they put to the adults.
One of the children said: ‘This is not a show I need to see.’
While another told the broadcaster: ‘It’s good to know that other people worry about the same things too.’
TV presenter Edson da Graça told NOS: ‘The aim is to teach children that each and every body is different and that not all bodies are perfect.’
Elsbeth Reitzema from the Rutgers sexual health foundation, which collaborated with NOS to produce the series, said that the steady stream of semi-pornographic images which children see everyday on television and online gave them a distorted view of the human body.
‘Those who see ordinary naked bodies more often have a more positive body image,’ she said.
The public broadcaster said in a statement: ‘The children knew exactly what was going to happen and they could say how they felt during the programme at any time. … We had expected a bit of a ruckus. Not everyone will think this is for children and that’s OK. It’s up to the parents to decide if their children can watch.’
The series is based on the Danish kids’ TV show Ultra smider tøjet (Ultra strips down) which is now into its second series.
It has been popular in Denmark, although not without criticism, where many believe that children should be exposed to the realities of life – so-called ‘Nordic parenting’.
‘We recognise the significance of a bruise,’ Sofie Münster, a parenting expert told the New York Times in October. ‘Danish parenting generally favours exposing children rather than shielding them.’
A particularly famous example is how children were given front row seats to observe as a giraffe was euthanized, dissected and then fed to lions at Copenhagen Zoo in 2014.
‘This is how we educate our children,’ Münster said. ‘We show them reality as it is.’
On the other hand, the conservative Danish People’s Party has argued against the show.
Party chairman Peter Skaarup said in September that it is ‘completely wrong and far too extreme.’
‘Shouldn’t we just let children be children?’ He said. ‘It corrupts our children, who at that age already have many things running around in their heads. There is no need for these things on top.’
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