Reykjavík’s mayor, Jón Gnarr, has provoked anger from feminist city council member Sóley Tómasdóttir. In an interview with AFP, a French news agency, the mayor said that he liked porn on the internet. Tómasdóttir who is a member of the Left Green party is furious over the remarks. She demands that they be discussed in a council meeting on Thursday morning.
Dirty old man? Jón Gnarr in a fashion show. Photo: Stefán Pálsson/Iceland Review
A journalist for visir.is asked Tómasdóttir if this wasn’t just an innocent joke from Gnarr. She replied: “A joke maybe, but I can’t accept that it was innocent. A joke like that does nothing but normalize pornography. Humor is a sharp weapon like Gnarr well knows. By telling this joke, if it is a joke, Gnarr is using it to normalize the use of porn. That is very serious and in direct opposition to the city’s declaration on human rights.”
Tómasdóttir says on visir.is that it is totally unacceptable to joke about pornography. “It is quite clear in the city’s human rights declaration that it intends to fight pornography and the mayor should act accordingly. “You may wonder what influence this has on young boys, because the mayor in Reykjavík is a role model for many boys.”
The article on the website France 24 includes the following:
“The mayor’s next project? “To make Reykjavik a twin city of Mummin valley,” an imaginary world filled with cuddly trolls and other creatures created by Finnish author Tove Jansson 70 years ago.
And what of his Internet habits? “Mostly porn,” he says with a laugh.
As for his motto, it is of course “transparent corruption: we are going to be corrupt openly.”
Gnarr is certainly not afraid of making a splash.
At the beginning of August he led a rambunctious Gay Pride parade through the Icelandic capital sporting a blond wig, bright red lipstick and wearing a floral-print dress with a large, bright yellow handbag over his shoulder.”
Tómasdóttir has very strong feminist views. In an interview with DV she said: “It took me a long time to get over giving birth to a boy. I still feel it is very special. He is very sweet and wonderful and I am really happy with him, but it is still odd to have a boy. First and foremost I have learned that it is not at all horrible to have a boy as I first thought.”
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